The Phone Call
by Anniebananie1252
Summary: Found her brother, lost her mom, Father's dead. Clary's life has never been so messed up. How could one phone call, have ruined her life, so quickly? And how could one person, make her feel so much better? AU rated T for teen.
1. PART 1: Lost, Chapter 1

Clary sat in the middle of her room, with the clues all scattered around her in various piles. Everything made sense on its own, but when she put it together... It was like trying to make a puzzle, with pieces from different pictures, they wouldn't fit.

She decided to think back to the beginning, the time when it all started. The day she received a strange phone call, from a guy named Jonathan Morgenstern.

Jonathan claimed to be Clary's brother. He said their Parents had divorced, even before Clary's birth, and their father had no knowledge of his wife's pregnancy, until just a couple months ago.

" I don't know how he found out, but he did." Jonathan had said, when Clary questioned him.

" Well here's an idea, how about you ask him? " There was a pause on the other line.

" hello?" Clary said, wondering if he had hung up on her.

" yeah, I'm still here." his tone surprised Clary. Just a second ago, he seemed so determined, almost excited about telling Clary everything he'd discovered. Now he sounded distant, like his mind had wandered some where else.

" so?" Clary prompted.

" oh um... Clary. our father's dead. He died two days ago in an accident."

Silence. What was she supposed to say? ' I'm sorry'? like that would make him feel better.

" Oh." was all that came out in the end.

" yeah."

More silence.

" So is that the only reason you called..." She trailed off, not wanting to sound rude, but the conversation wasn't really going anywhere... Sure, it was nice to know that she had a brother and everything, but it all just seemed so unreal, that she didn't really believe him. One thing was settled though, she had some serious questions for her mom today.

" umm... yeah but I also wanted to ask you something..."

" shoot."

there was another pause before Jonathan answered.

" Can we like meet, somewhere... You know, to talk about things..."

Jonathan was a complete and utter stranger. Clary had no idea if he was lying or not. why would her mother just abandon her son like that? Yeah he had a father an all, but people don't just leave there kids.

" uhh... okay, look. I don't know you. I'm sure your a nice guy and all, but I really have no idea who you are. You might be telling the truth, but until I talk to my mom, I'm not meeting anyone. I'll call you if my mom tells me the same thing you just did. I'm really sorry about your father, and all, but until I get some answers from my mother, Don't expect me to be believing anything you just said to me. I really have to go now, so bye, call you... later." Clary hung up before Jonathan could say anything else.

hopefully her mom would have some answers.


	2. Chapter 2

Clary walked through the front door of her apartment, too busy thinking about how she was going to approach the subject of her father and new found brother, to notice her mom sitting on the couch in the living room.

Clary and her mother lived in a small two bedroom apartment. Technically they lived alone, but Luke, her mother's boyfriend, was there almost every night.

" hey honey" her mom said, motioning her over to come sit with her.

" how was school?"

Clary's mom had long red hair, similar to her own, except her's sat on her head much better than Clary's.

" It'll sit better as you get older Clary, trust me." her mother always said when she complained about it too much.

" Clary, is everything okay?" her mother asked.

Clary suddenly noticed that she had zoned out and completely missed everything her mother had said.

" oh, uh yeah, everything's fine.." she trailed off, not wanting to start the conversation she'd been replaying in her mind the entire way home.

" are you sure? You seem... Distracted."

Clary had gone through at least twenty different ways to approach the subject of her father. When she was little, she had wanted to know about him so much, but she never had the guts to ask. After a while, her curiosity had died down, and the urge to ask her mom, had almost completely disappeared. Almost.

" Mom... can I ask you something?" she decided that this was how people usually started these conversations in movies, then again, these scenes never ended well in the majority of movies Clary had seen...

" yes of course, ask away."

Clary took in a deep breath and finally asked the big question.

" Can you tell me about my father?"

Her mom sucked in a breath, clearly not expecting that.

" well there's not really much to tell really, we got divorced a long time ago, and I haven't seen him since."

Although Clary desperately wanted to believe everything Jonathan had said was a lie, and that her mother was telling her everything, she knew this wasn't the case. her mother was being extremely vague, not telling her the time of the divorce, not even her father's name.

" mom, I have a brother don't I?" her mother looked at her, shock written all over her face.

" how did you know that?" her voice came out harsher that usual. It cracked on the last word, as if even the memory of her child was too sad.

" He called me... today. He said he was my brother, and that..." she couldn't quite get the words out.

" mom... he said my father's dead."

Her mother looked at her with horror in her eyes.

" what? he's..."

she trailed off not finishing the phrase. Her eyes started to water, and her shoulders began to shake.

" mom, are you alright? Should I call Luke?" Clary's heart began to race, she had never seen her mother cry, let alone sob. What was she supposed to do?

" n-no Clary. It's a-alright." she said through her sobs, before walking out of the living room, and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.


	3. Chapter 3

Clary sat in her room, thinking about what to do next. She could either wait till her mom had calmed down and ask her questions then, or she could call Jonathan. If she asked her mom, there was a big chance, that a) she wouldn't tell her anything, or b) she would burst into to tears. On the other hand, if she called Jonathan, it would be like going behind her mother's back.

_but he's your brother. _A voice in her head was saying, _this is what siblings do. They turn to each other when there's no one else._

_yes, but just because he's your brother, doesn't mean he's not some murderer or something! _ another part of her mind countered.

After about a half hour of arguing with herself, Clary decided to give Jonathan a call.

" hello?" the deep voice on the phone answered cheerfully.

" ummm... hi, It's Clary. Your... sister?"

her brother's response was immediate.

" oh hey, have you talked to your mom?"

she paused, it was now or never.

" yeah, do you think we could meet, maybe tomorrow?"

Clary's heart was beating, so fast, she was certain it was going to pop out of her chest.

' ah... sure, where?"

Jonathan's voice seemed calm, like he found lost sister's all the time. Maybe he did, Clary didn't know. She didn't know anything about him.

" do you know that coffee shop downtown? It's called Java Jones."

" yeah I know it. You wanna meet there?"

" yeah."

" what time?"

Clary finished school at three, and getting downtown didn't take long, ten, fifteen minutes max.

" umm.. how about three forty-five?" she finally answerd.

" sure, see you then." the line disconnected.

Clary let out a breath, she hadn't noticed she was holding in. There was no ignoring her dad now. After sixteen years, she was finally going to get some answers...


	4. Chapter 4

Clary sat at a table in Java Jones. She had already ordered, so that she didn't have to suffer through the awkwardness, of Jonathan and her ordering their drinks together, and then spending the entire meeting, wondering if they would split the price, or if he would pay, or if she would pay... The whole thing was just too complicated and awkward, so avoiding it all together seemed like the only thing to do.

Clary had arrived fifteen minutes early. Mainly because of the paying phenomenon, but also from the fear of coming in after him, then not recognizing him. She had no idea what he looked like, she was hoping he would look something like her, or her mother, but that still wasn't much to go on. No. it was better he come after her, and then figure out who she was, after all. _He's _the one that contacted _her. _Clary had been so busy worrying, that she hadn't noticed a guy come and stand directly in front of her. she looked up.

" are you Clarissa Fray?" the boy asked.

" yeah, but I prefer Clary. You're Jonathan?"

the boy smirked before answering

" actually no. My name is Jace. Jonathan is one of my friends, so he asked me to tag along. You know to make this a bit less awkward." he shrugged, like he didn't quite agree to this logic, but had nothing better to do, so he came anyways.

Jace had blonde hair, and golden eyes. His face looked like what Clary woulld have thought an angel would look like, but some how... hotter. He had a black leather jacket, with a clack T-shirt and jeans. So maybe not an angel...but still amazing.

" I see." there was a pause, then Clary asked,

" so... where is Jonathan?"

" oh right, he's just parking the car. He asked me to go in first, so that we wouldn't be late."

Clary glanced at her phone and saw that Jace had come exactly on time.

" Oh right, how did you know it was me?"

Jace had a grin on his face that made Clary's heart flutter.

" Jonathan has a picture, in his house of his mom. You look just like her."

Clary blushed.

At that moment another guy walked into the shop nad Jace waved him over.

" Hey, you must be Clarissa. It's nice to finally meet you."

He held out his hand, so Clary awkwardly shook it.

" It's Clary, actually." Jace said with another heart fluttering grin.

Jonathan looked nothing like Clary. He had blonde hair that looked almost white, and broad shoulders. He looked quite muscular, but not in a intimidating way. The only thing they had in common, were their mother's green eyes.

"so... what did you want to talk about?" Clary asked, attempting to make conversation.

" well do you know anything about the divorce?"

Clary shook her head.

" well, we can start there then."

A barista came over and asked if they would like to order. Jace ordered a coffee and Jonathan ordered an iced tea.

" so your mom never told you anything? Like What so ever, about me, or your dad?"

Jonathan asks, taking a sip from his tea.

" nope."

" well, then I guess we'll start from the very beginning. I was born two years before the divorce. Our dad, his name was Valentine Morgenstern, always kept everything really strict for me. Like, I'd be punished if I did something wrong, or spoke when I wasn't supposed to. Your mom, Jocelyn, Never liked our father's parenting approach, so they began to argue... a lot. Eventually they got a divorce. During the trial, when they were deciding on who got to keep me, Valentine won. He always won in word games, persuasion was his talent. That's why Jocelyn Didn't tell him about her pregnancy, in fear that Valentine would steal that child from her too."

Clary tried to process everything. Her last name was supposed to be Morgenstern for one thing. She was supposed to grow up with her brother. She could have been angry with her mother, maybe she should have been, but she wasn't. She trusted her mom's judgement, and if her mom hadn't trusted Valentine, then it was probably for good reason.

" but why didn't mom come visit you?" Clary finally asked.

" It was part of the divorce contract. Jocelyn couldn't have any contact with me. technically I would have been sent to her, now that my dad passed away, but I just turned 19 so I don't need a legal guardian anymore."

" how did... Valentine pass away?" Clary asked.

" he died in a fire accident. Some one dropped a match in out apartment building and the whole house caut on fire, out door was stuck or something, so he couldn't get out on time."

Clary had heard this story on the news, but it had always been someone else. Never had she thought she had any kind of connection with this person, let alone that he was her _father._

They talked more about themselves for a while, how their lives have been ect. At this point Jace had joined in, telling stories of his own. She had to admit. She was having more fun than she thought she would.

" So do you have a ride?" Jace asked.

" ummm... I'll just walk from here, I guess." she answered.

" It's going to get dark soon, I'll walk you."

before she could protest, Jace was already heading out of the shop, waving at her to hurry up. After a moments hesitation, she did.


	5. Chapter 5

" so... why are you walking me home?" Clary asked.

" I told you, it's going to get dark soon, what if you get mugged or something"

Jace answered dramatically.

" don't you have like, more important things to do?"

Jace looked at her, and smirked,

" what trying to get rid of me already? But we only just met."

Clary couldn't help it. She laughed.

" do people usually want to get rid of you?"

He smiled again before answering,

" why else do you think I came along today?"

She rolled her eyes, but didn't answer.

" so, how far away do you live?" Jace asked.

" not far, about ten minutes"

They walked in silence for awhile. She couldn't help but notice how smoothly he walked. Barely making a sound.

" so, how did you meet Jonathan?" Clary finally asked, trying to break the awkward silence.

" umm... when we were young, we met at this boxing class. We stopped going last year, because of school and stuff, but I guess we've just been friends ever since."

_Boxing class, _Clary thought. _Makes sense. _

Clary racked her brain for something else to ask, to keep the conversation going.

" umm... do you have any siblings?"

" Well this is getting personal now, isn't it." Jace joked.

" I just figured, since you have equal knowledge of my family as me, I should get to know at least a little about yours."

" alright, that makes sense." He said.

" I have two brothers and one sister. My younger brother's name is Max, and my older brother's name is Alec."

" cool. And your sister?"

" oh, right, her name's Isabelle. We call her Izzy though."

Clary thought about that. Having siblings. Because Clary was an only child, she had a better relationship with her mom than most kids her age, but that didn't mean she'd never wanted a sibling. She remembered her first crush, and how she really wanted to tell someone. Sadly at the time, she couldn't tell her best friend ( his name was simon, and he was boy) And telling her mom was out of the question. She had wanted a sister so bad.

Then there was that time when a man started following her home from school when she was in grace seven. She had wanted an older brother more than anything, so he could walk her home, or maybe even beat the guy up for her. She had Simon though, He wasn't the most athletic person, but he was better than nothing.

Point was, Clary was jealous of Jace, for having grown up with not just adults in the house, but actual kids. Not ones that came over then left later on, but ones that lived there with you.

" must have been nice. Growing up with them." She said, almost dreamily.

" I didn't. Not completely at least."

Clary looked at him, confused.

" what do you mean?"

" I was adopted when I was seven. My dad passed away, so the Lightwoods adopted me."

" oh."

They walked in more silence, not knowing what else to talk about.

" so, what do you do?" Jace suddenly asked.

" umm... you mean like hobbies?"

" yeah. Like I like to study old crime stories in my free time... Don't judge."

She laughed.

" crime stories? why?"

"maybe I'll tell you some day, but what about you?"

" okay... I like to draw... and paint... just art in general."

" cool. Maybe if your really lucky, I'll let you draw me some day."

There was that heart attack causing grin again.

They stopped, seeing the building in front of them.

" so, this is where I have to go..." Clary said, trailing off.

" We should meet again."

She looked at Jace expecting to see that smirk again, but her eyes landed on a face that was dead serious.

" If I agree, will you tell me why you read crime stories?"

He grinned.

" possibly."

Clary held out her hand.

" phone."

He passed it to her, and she typed in her number.

" call me when you're bored again." and with that she walked into the building.

" mom, I'm home!" She called as she entered the apartment.

she looked around, but there was no sight of her mom. Finally she got to her mother's bedroom, and found the room was a disaster. clothes were tossed all over the floor. The lamp lied broken on the floor. It must have been thrown, because there was a hole in the wall above it. Various objects had been skattered around the entire room, and holes were all over the walls.

Jocelyn Fray would never leave the house in this shape, at least not willingly.

Clary ran into her room and sobbed. When she finally stopped, she looked at her dest through her blurry vision. The framed picture of her mom and her, from when she was seven, was gone.


	6. PART 2: Stolen, Chapter 6

**OMG guys, I'm soooooo sorry, for everything! this computer is sooooooo retarded! it won't let me properly copy and paste and just OMG. anyways, thanks for reading, and enjoy!**

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" Jace, how far are you from my house?"

Clary didn't know why, out of all people she called the guy she had just met.

_He's probably the closest... he just heard everything there is to hear about your parents... His golden eyes won't get out of your head..._

She new she should have called Simon, after all he had been her best friend since kindergarden, or she should have called Luke, he was her mother's boyfriend, the closest Clary had to a father, of course he should be the first to know about her mother's possible kidnapping. But Clary didn't call Simon. She didn't call Luke, She called Jace. The angel like boy, that wouldn't leave her mind no matter how hard she tried to kick him out.

" I'm still outside... why?"

Clary heart fluttered with hope, that she wasn't completely alone, that maybe someone could come and tell her she was over reacting, or that she had gone crazy and was seeing things.

" can you come up? now."

She had expected him to question her, demand why she was inviting a guy she had just met up to her apartment, but instead he just said:

" on my way" and hung up.

Five minutes later, Clary could hear feet stomping up the hall to her apartment, then loud urgent banging on the door. _Jace._

She rushed to the over, and let him in.

" Clary what's happened? What's wrong?"

Although she could see the worry in his eyes, his voice was calm and steady.

" My mom" She tried to get the words out, " she's gone."

Jace's face paled.

" what do you mean _gone?" _ he asked. His voice was starting to loose it's calm tone.

" I don't know, I came home, and she wasn't here, and i checked her room, and everything was thrown around, and the pictures gone and-"

" Clary! calm down!" Jace interrupted. " show me the room, and explain the picture"

Under other circumstances, Clary would have been impressed. Not everyone could have gotten information out of Clary's rambling, she knew for a fact, that Simon wouldn't have gotten _any of it. _

Clary led him to her mother's room, half hoping he would tell her she was crazy and that she was seeing things, but she knew she wasn't _that _lucky. The last bit of hope she disappeared as they entered the room, and a little gasp escaped Jace's mouth.

" Clary, we have to call the police. Now."

Even as he said it, Jace was pulling out his phone dialing 911.

So she wasn't hallucinating. Her mother was gone. She hadn't even left, or gotten lost. Jocelyn Fray was kidnapped, taken, _stolen_.


	7. Chapter 7

" when was the last time you saw your mother?" the asian police lady asked me.

She had long black hair, that was tied up in a high ponytail. She had a pretty face, but it didn't stand out. Her voice was calm but stern, just like you would imagine a police officer to sound.

" I saw her today, before I left to meet... someone"

" were you meeting the boy that was here with you earlier?"

Clary didn't know weather it was a good idea to tell the police officer about everything that had just happened, but she didn't see a point in hiding it, maybe they would even help her out.

" umm..." she finally said, " sort of. I was meeting my brother."

The officer was taking notes, scribling on her notebook. Her movements looked so urgent, like the more force she used to flip the pages of her small notebook, the closer she would get to solving the case, Like all the answers would be in the back of this little book.

" Should we contact your brother? He probably wants to know about this."

Clary shook her head.

" I'll tell him tomorrow, it's not that urgent for him to know..."

She looked up at the women's confused expression.

" He's never met her, I only just met _him_ today. My parents got divorced before I was born, so we were split up."

Clary didn't tell her that her dad didn't even know about her slowly growing in her mother's stomach, but she decided that it could still count as being 'split up'.

" May I have your brother's name?"

" Jonathan Morgenstern"

" Sorry, did you say Morgenstern? As in your father was Valentine Morgenstern?"

Clary was baffled. How did the police know about her father? _Why_ did the police know about her father?

" Yeah, at least that's what Jonathan told me... Sorry, but how do you know about him?"

" oh, I was the head of his case. You know, the fire incident. Valentine was somehow locked inside his apartment when the fire started, by the time the fire department came it was too late. There wasn't even enough of him to burry, all we found was a finger with the Morgenstern family ring on it."

Clary thought back to when she heard the story on the news, it can't have been more that a week. How had Jonathan been so calm meeting her? If it had been her mom, she would have been a mess for months, maybe even years.

" Are there any more questions left, or can I leave now..."

The officer must have seen the near tears expression on her face, because she told her she could.

Not knowing what else to do, Clary backed a bag with some clothes and other necessities went over to Simon's house.

Simon's house was like Clary's second home. Ever since she first met Simon in kindergarden, they had been best friends. It wasn't long before they basically started to share their houses.

Clary didn't have to knock on the door to Simon's house, because it was almost always open. Even on those rare days, when it was locked, Clary had a key.

Simon was sitting on the couch in the living room playing video games. His house was small but but cozy. None of their furniture matched, but Clary didn't care, as long as it was all comfortable, she really didn't give a damn. Everything was clean and tidy no matter when you came in, and there was always left over dinner in the fridge, from the night before. Clary had fell in love with Simon's house and everything in it the moment she saw it eleven years ago.

Finally Simon noticed her standing in the door way and the flood of tears she'd been keeping back, came out in a giant sob. He had his arms around her in a heart beat, telling her everything was okay, not even asking why she was crying. She was soaking his shirt in tears and probably snot, But she didn't give a crap. Her mom was missing, her dad was dead, the stupid guy who had walked her home wouldn't get out of her head, no matter how hard she tried to logic with her brain and lastly her hair had started to frizz from walking in the rain. She could snot on anyone's shirt if she god damned pleased.

" Clary what's wrong? what happened?" he finally asked.

Clary told the story for the third time. He gasped when he heard about her brother, then hugged her again when he found out about her mom going missing. By the time she was done, she already had a mug of steaming hot chocolate in her hands.

" So you find out who your dad is, a week after he dies... that sucks."

The tears were almost gone by then, along with the hot chocolate. Simon had already called his mom at work and told her Clary was going to stay over for a while. He told her he'd explain later, then hung up.

" Simon. I'm scared."

Saying it made it both better and worse. She finally said it, those two words, for the first time. She had never admitted being scared, even when she was little, even to mom. Her logic since she was five years old had always been, _if I don't say it, it's not true, it doesn't matter. _And until now, it had worked. Eventually she got over everything. But this time, things weren't that simple. It wasn't a scary ride at the amusement, or a small quiz that she hadn't studied for. This was her mom, not being home, or at work or anywhere she usually was. This was the first time Clary had ever been so totally lost, not even knowing the logical thing to do. _This is life Clary._ She thought to herself, _If it was that simple, nobody could ever do anything great. _

That night she slept at Simon's house. Simon told his mom what happened, partly because Clary was in the shower when she got home, but mostly because she'd already had to repeat it three times today, and every time she said it, the more real it became. When she got out of the shower, Simon's mom ran towards her. She gave her a hug and kissed her forehead, telling her everything was going to be okay.

She barely slept that night, and when she woke, her phone screen displayed a text message from Jonathan:

_meet at the mall at 12?_

needing something to do, she agreed.

_sure._

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**Hey guys, sorry i haven't updated in sooooo long, but i was moving, then ther e was no wifi, then i had a competition, and just really busy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, i tried to make it longer than usual. I'll try to ****update on sunday or monday but im not sure, anyways, thanks for reading, please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

It was 11:45 and Clary was already sitting in the food court, waiting for her brother. She had contemplated asking if Jace was coming, but decided not to. At exactly 12:00 a white haired boy appeared in front of her. She couldn't help but feel a tinge of disappointment when she saw that Jace wasn't with him.

" Hey little sis, what's up?"

" Hey…."

His carefree expression suddenly changed into one of concern.

" what's wrong? what happened?"

Clary didn't know how he had picked up on her distraught so easily, but she figured he was just good at reading people.

" My mom disappeared yesterday…"

" oh my god, Clary are you alright?"

She didn't know what to say. of course she wasn't alright! Her mother just _disappeared. _How could anyone be _alright?_

_" _yeah, I'm fine."

He didn't look like he believed her, but he didn't push her either.

" so, why'd you wanna meet? Do I have some secret sister I didn't know about or something?"

" no. No more secrets, I just wanted to get to know you a bit. You know, sibling bonding time, shit like that."

" oh, umm… sure…"

" okay, let's go." And with that, Clary's hand was in her brother's and he was dragging her through the mall.

" where are we going?" she said, giggling despite the weight of all of her problems holding her down.

" somewhere I think you'll enjoy"

Clary had thought the the place he was taking her was inside the mall, but it became clear that it wasn't when he started pulling her out the huge automatic exit door.

" Jonathan, where are you taking me?!"

He just laughed, and looked at her with the most carefree eyes. They were the same eyes that had looked down on her only days before. When her mom and her had tried to make cupcakes, but they ended up tasting terrible and the kitchen was a mess.

" we're artists, not chefs" her mother had said.

" Almost there"

Being with Jonathan didn't make the pain or fear go away, but it did make it fade a bit. Like His presence was pushing out anything else that wanted to be in her head.

After another five minutes of running, who knows where, they got to a sketchy looking street, with old restaurants, and those clubs that you only see on TV.

" Jonathan where are we?" Clary asked nervously.

" Trust me, I'm not taking to to a strip club or anything, We're almost there."

He led her to an old run down building, but instead of going inside, he took her to the back of the building.

" Close your eyes" he said.

" I am so not closing my eyes here. This place is just screaming murder scene."

" just do it, I swear I won't let anything Happen to you."

She didn't quite trust the environment, but she did trust Jonathan. She closed her eyes.

He put his hands on her shoulders and led her a little further down the side of the building.

" okay, open." he said.

When Clary opened her eyes, she saw one of the most amazing places she had ever layer eyes upon. It was an old alley, with a few lights, that were half broken. There were liquor bottles all over the dirty, wet ground, But if you looked at the walls, they were filled with street art. There were so many styles, and symbols, and different colours, Clary couldn't even process it.

" what is this place?" she asked, still in shock.

" they call it the art alley"

" who does?"

Jonathan laughed.

" the artists that paint here. There was a big problem with graffiti in this area a couple years ago, so the police gave all the graffiti artists this little alley. There's still a graffiti problem, but those are just the people who like to vandalize, this is where all the real artists go."

Clary couldn't take her eyes off of it.

" it's incredible"

" your part of it now."

She looked at him wide eyed.

" I can't just come here and paint what ever I want, and how did you low I like art anyways?"

he smirked,

" Jace told me, and yes you can. This place belongs to any artist, who loves art. Tomorrow Jace is picking you up, and taking you here and you, Clarissa Fray, are going to paint something amazing."

She smiled. Art had always been Clary's escape from the world. While some read, or wrote, or watched movies and TV, Clary drew, and painted. She could already feel the comfort of this dark wet, alley, rising inside her.

" okay." she said, Still trying to soak everything in. " I'll do it."

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**Hey guys! so I hope you're all still enjoying this. I'm actually loving writing this, its so much fun! please review, i really appreciate it! i love you guys!**


	9. Chapter 9

Clary had been standing in the art alley for half an hour but nothing was coming to her head. Art was always her escape from reality, but for once, the cell was too strong, and she just couldn't run away.

" how about we come back tomorrow?" Jace asked.

" yeah sure.."

They left the art alley, but instead of going back to the car, Jace led Clary down a street into some place called, Taki's Diner.

Taki's was old, but comfortable. There were couches instead of chairs, with pillows and blankets thrown on the ground. Despite the people on the streets, outside of Taki's ( mostly prostitutes and forty year old men looking for prostitutes) people inside were all friendly, and actually pretty decent.

After they'd been seated on a small two person couch, in front of a small Korean styled table, Jace ordered coke and Clary ordered a coffee.

" what, is this like your hanging out place or something?" Clary asked.

" not exactly. It's more of a Hiding out place."

" And what, may I ask, would you be hiding from?"

the usual twinkle faded from Jaces eyes.

" It's more of a who actually. I tend to stay out of the house as much as possible."

Clary could tell by his tone, that this wasn't something he wanted to talk about.

" oh, umm… okay then. I seem to recall you promising me an explanation for your crime story fetish"

Clary was relieved to see the heart jolting smirk back on Jace's face.

" I said I _might _tell you, and it's not a fetish."

Clary laughed.

" so, are you going to tell me or not?"

" fine. When I was little, the police came to my neighbours house. I heard a gun fire, and then a girl scream. I had no idea what happened, but I recognized that scream. It was my best friend, her name was Emma. I sprinted to her house, about to knock on the door, but three police men came rushing out. Not long after that Emma's mom was taken out on a gurney, unconscious, and Emma was taken away somewhere, I never saw her again. I asked the police later what had happened, but they just told me, I wouldn't understand. After that day, I started researching police stories, looking for what had happened to my friend, slowly the police stories turned into any crime stories, and I guess I've been reading them ever since."

Clary was silent for a couple minutes before finally answering.

" Did you ever find out?"

" Find what out?" Jace asked, momentarily lost in thought.

" what happened to your friend."

There was that sad look on his face again.

" yeah, her mom had a drug addiction. She had gone crazy that day so Emma called the cops. When they came, Her mom tried to shoot one of them, so they had to stun gun her. Emma was taken to a foster home, and her mom went to rehab."

" Did you ever try to find her?"

" yes."

"did you?"

He was silent for a long time before answering.

" yes. She committed suicide last year."

Clary didn't know what to say, so she just stayed silent.

" Sorry. Do you want to leave now?"

she nodded.

The car ride home was silent. Just as Clary was getting out Jace said,

" I'm sorry, that was a terrible date. I will make it up to you tomorrow. Be at the mall at two."

He drove away before Clary could even argue that this wasn't a date.

* * *

**hey guys! sorry if you didn't like Jace's new back story... I tried hard though. Anyways, please tell me your thoughts by reviewing! I love you guys!**


	10. Chapter 10

By the time Clary came home ( technically it was Simon's house) from her date, She invited Jace to come in. The date had gone well, nobody had disappeared or died so already it was a step up. Jace had taken her to a nice restaurant for dinner, then they took a walk in central park. They talked about family, and about hobbies and basically just got to know each other. Clary enjoyed herself, but it wasn't anything too special… well except for the fact that it was Jace.

Clary led Jace to the guest room that was temporarily Clary's bedroom.

" so… do you wanna hang here for a bit before you leave?" Clary asked.

" you mean in your bedroom?"

Clary was suddenly horrified. That was not what she meant, but thinking back, she could see where he had gotten the idea.

" oh god no, sorry, I meant here at Simon's house."

" well, that was awkward, but yeah. sure."

Clary got up and led Jace to Simon's room.

" Simon?" she said knocking at on the door.

he opened the door, and was about to say something but quickly stopped when he saw Jace.

" why hello there…. who are you and why are you in my house?"

" Simon this is Jace, Jace this is Simon."

They shook hands.

" so, what'cha doin?" Clary asked

" just playing some video games, would you guys like to join me?"

Half an hour later they were all sitting on the floor of simon's bedroom playing mario cart.

" okay my eyes are starting to hurt." Clary said after three hours of gaming.

" what else are we supposed to do?" Simon asked.

" do you guys want to watch a movie or something?"

they all agreed to watch a movie, but choosing one proved to be a challenge.

" perks of being a wallflower!" Clary said.

" nooooo!" Simon and Jace screamed in unison.

" it's a chic flick." Simon said.

" that is so not a valid argument." Clary laughed.

" the main character has issues, which are never actually explained in detail, so it makes the entire movie unclear. We all know that Emma Watson has a british accent, so it's ridicules when she tries to hide it, and I'm sorry but Simon's right. It's a chic flick. There is absolutely no good chic flick out there except for maybe Mean Girls."

Clary burst out laughing. It wasn't even just what he said, it was the serious expression on his face while he said it.

" Oh my god. Let's was Avatar!" Simon screamed.

" can I call Jonathan over? He loves that show." Jace said when they had all expressed their love for Avatar and their hate for the movie.

" Oh yeah sure!" Clary said, accidentally forgetting that this wasn't actually her house.

Jonathan showed up approximately 15 minutes later wearing sweat pants and a Avatar t-shirt.

" Damn…." Simon said laughing.

" yeah sad part is, I was already wearing it."

They all laughed and went bad to Simon's room.

They got through the whole first season, before they all started to fall asleep.

" we have to finish this." Jonathan said.

" tomorrow at nine? Jace asked.

they all nodded there heads, with the most serious expressions they could muster, but of course that all burst into laughter anyways, except for Jace.

Jonathan and Jace left, and Clary went to her temporary bedroom and crashed

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**hey ****guys! I'm really sorry for not posting in so long... i was moving then we got a puppy, and yeah... things were kind of busy. this chapter definatley isn't one of my best but I'm really tired and i was just trying to update quickly. than you so much everyone for reading, I love you!**


	11. Chapter 11

" What do you mean you _don't like _disney movies?" Jonathan exclaimed.

" I don't know, I guess I just don't like the messages behind them, like I'm sorry, but your not going to find your perfect match at the age of like sixteen then marry the next day, and _not _divorce in a matter of weeks."

" I think we should just enjoy them, and hope our children aren't _that _impressionable."

Clary laughed.

" Maybe, but it still sort of bothers me, I mean how can you trust that the person you just met isn't like a killer or something?"

" Maybe you can't." Clary knew he was joking but his usual smile wavered for moment. Like he was recalling a painful memory.

" so where are we eating? I haven't ate any food since yesterday night."

" you mean the pizza pops and candy we ate?"

" Maybe…"

Jonathan smirked. " I would hardly call that _food."_

Clary sighed. " fine, then I haven't ate since yesterday evening."

" are you sure _that _was food?"

She pulled out her phone.

" Jace took me to dinner, Call him if you want evidence."

Jonathan put his hands up in mock surrender.

" So where are we eating?" Clary asked again, still hungry.

" I don't know, Taki's?"

Clary thought back to the old, crowded diner.

" sure."

The ride to Taki's was good. They talked about bands they both liked. Turned out Jonathan had been to one of Simons only sold out shows.

" They were good, but at one point someone fell off the stage, and it didn't exactly end well."

Clary laughed.

" I went to that one! It was actually one of they're best , minus the guitarist taking a 'leap of faith' as he called it."

Jonathan chuckled.

" thought he looked like one of _those_ people."

Clary snorted.

" yeah, he does poetry readings sometimes… I would stick to his music personally, but if your into poetry about 'loins' and stuff, then I would really recommend him."

Jonathan looked away from the road for just long enough to give Clary a confused look, before turning his attention back to the highway.

As Clary sat on one of the couches in Taki's, she noticed a few yearning eyes on Jonathan, then some glares thrown at her. She smirked, then ignored Jonathan's questioning look.

" what can I get you" a waitress asked.

Clary ordered a cheese burger with mashed potatoes, earning a strange look from her brother, and a coke. Jonathan ordered nachos and an ice tea.

half way through they're meal Clary broke the comfortable silence with a question that had been bugging her since she's accepted Jonathan as her brother.

" Did you ever wonder what it would be like… you know, to have a sibling?"

Clary didn't know why she was asking. Just because _she _had always wanted a brother or a sister, didn't mean he did too.

" I wondered every day."

Calry looked at him, with surprise on her face.

" what do you mean?"

" Clary I'm sorry, but didn't tell you the whole truth. I _did_ only find you because of Valentine, but I already knew _about _you. When I was three Jocelyn told me that I was going to have a little sister. I don't think she even remembers telling me, but for some reason that never left my mind. Just like image of her."

Clary was about to answer, when she looked at her brother and saw two things. number one were her mothers green eyes. How _could _he forget his own mother, when _her _eyes would stare back at him everyday in the mirror.

The second thing she saw was the fright on his face. like she would judge him for what he had just admitted.

" I always wanted older brother, and I'm happy I got one. I just wish I had gotten you from the start."

A tear rolled down Clary's cheek.

" And I wish I didn't have to loose my dad first."

Clary was breaking. all the tears she'd contained in the past week were starting to slip out.

" And I wish I hadn't lost my mother in the process."

Jonathan put his arms around Clary, her face on his chest, his shirt soaking up her tears. This was supposed to have happened years ago. When Clary was five and Jonathan was eight and they're Grandmother had died, Or when she was Fourteen and her first boyfriend had broken up with her. This was not supposed to happen for the first time when she was sixteen and Jonathan was nineteen, and they're mother had disappeared.

" Clary it's okay. Everything will work out " But as he said it, Clary looked at her brother and saw a single tear run down his face.

_what if it wasn't okay? what if nothing was ever the same again?_

Clary sobbed harder and harder until, suddenly the world around her disappeared and everything went black.


	12. Chapter 12

" Jace? Is this Jace? This better be Jace."

Simon had waited until 11:00 pm to call Jace. Clary said she was hanging out with Jonathan today and would be home by 7:00 pm, but she hadn't shown up. At 8:00 he'd called Clary's cell, but there was no answer. He tried again several times, but still, Clary didn't pick up. He decided that she probably met up with Jace later on and if Clary was doing _something _with him…, He really didn't want to be at the end of the line, seeing as he would be interrupting a kind of important moment. He decided he would call at 11:00. They would be done by then right?

" yes, this is Jace. What do you want Simon, I was sleeping."

" You wouldn't happen to be with Clary would you?"

Even over the phone Simon could feel Jace tense.

" No she said she was hanging out with Jonathan today. Isn't she home yet?"

Simon had to keep from yelling into the phone.

" well obviously not since I'm calling you."

" right, sorry. I'll call Jonathan, then I'll call you back."

" okay."

" stop panicking. I'm sure she's perfectly alright."

" yeah I know…" Simon trailed off.

Jace hung up, and dialled Jonathan. There was no answer. He tried again, still nothing.

on the fifth try, a raspy female voice answered.

" Jace? Jace. is that you?"

Jace recognized that voice, all too well. The state it was in brought tears to his eyes.

" Clary? Clary! What's wrong? Where are you?"

" I-I don't know. Jonathan took me to lunch at Taki's then I passed out. When I woke up I was in this room, it looks like a storage wear house room or something. My hands are tied, and so are my feet."

Clary had begun to cry.

" Shhh…. Clary it's okay. everything will be alright. Have you seen Jonathan? Is he okay?"

There was a pause on the other end.

" I woke up just in time to see him leave the room, with some rope in his hands, then he locked the door."

No. No no no no no no. Jonathan couldn't have don't this. He'd told Jace when he had first found out about Clary after Valentine's death. Despite his grief he'd been so excited, so happy that he finally had a sister. Why would he kidnap her? It didn't make sense.

" Clary are you sure it was Jonathan?"

" I think so. He left me his jacket, that's how I have his phone. I guess he must have forgotten it."

Jace tried to swallow down his panic. He had to be calm, for Clary. He had to be calm.

" Jace?"

"yeah?"

" I'm scared. what if they're going to kill me?"

" I won't let that happen. I'll be there, I'll find you."

" Jace? Be careful. I don't want both of us dead. If you have to choose, choose the certainty of your life over the possibility of mine, okay?"

Jace tried not to choke on his tears.

" don't think about that. Everything will be alri-"

The line broke.

"CLARY! CLARY!"

silence.

He had to find her. He had to save her

**hey guys, so I know i sort of ****disappeared**** for while, but i'm back! :) So, the main plot of the story is finally starting to take place. Now I know it seems like the Story is coming to an end, but don't worry. There will be 4 parts to this story, and we're only on part 2, so we still have plenty of story left! :) is that makes you unhappy then... sorry, sucks for you. cuz I'm enjoying ****writing**** this :p anyways, your ****favourites**** and follows are much ****appreciated, but reviews would be kind of really amazing... lol. thanks so much for reading,** **you guys encourage me to write with every review, follow, and favourite. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	13. Chapter 13

" Hello? I'd like to report a kidnapping."

" may I have the time an place please?"

The man at the end of the line, did not seem at all worried. Jace would even go as far as to say, He had waken him up from a short nap.

" I don't know the time but the last thing she remembers is being at taki's, that diner in downtown. Her name is Clarissa Fray, her mother disappeared a few weeks ago."

" And how did you get your information?"

" I called her brother's cell phone number and she picked up, saying she was in some storage wear house."

" alright, I'll try and get someone over there as soon as I can."

" How long will that take?"

Jace said impatiently.

" probably half an hour to an hour."

Jace almost screamed into the phone.

" She might not have an hour, Don't you understand? She's somewhere tied up in a room!"

the man on the phone kept his voice monotone.

" sir, were doing our best, but we don't have everyone at the station right now. There are other problems in this city."

Jace hung up the phone, and looked at his laptop. There were ten storage wear houses in new york city. Three of them were less than a five hour drive, and Clary had sent him a text at six thirty, saying she and Jonathan were at Taki's. It had been eleven when he talked to Clary.

Only one of the three wear houses were empty, so Jace figured that one would be his best bet.

Not knowing what he would do when he got there, Jace got on his motorcycle and started driving towards the wear house, with only one thought in his mind.

_Clary._

Clary sat in the dark cold room, shivering and rocking back and forth. Her wrists were soar from being tied up and her head ache was getting worse. Nobody had come in, since she'd woken up.

_Maybe they'll just leave me here forever, until I'm nothing but a rotting corps, forgotten. _

A part of her had wanted Jace to come, But most of her didn't. She'd only known Jace a couple of weeks, but she didn't want him in danger.

Suddenly the door opened and a man with hair so blonde it was almost white, stepped in the room.

" hello Clarissa" The man said. The was a sort of glee in his eyes. Like an animal looking at it's food.

" w-what do you want with m-me?"

Clary barely got out.

" oh, don't be afraid child. I know this is hard to believe, since your mother kept you so cleverly hidden from me, but I am Valentine Morgenstern. Your father."

" but your dead, you died in a fire three weeks ago, _you're lying!"_

Clary mumbled.

Valentine laughed. A cold laugh that sent shivers through her bones.

" I am not the one that has been lying to you, that was your brothers job. Jonathan. Come in."

Clary began to shake harder than before.

_no no no no no no. _

Jonathan walked in, holding knife in his hands.

He didn't speak, He didn't even look at her.

" Jonathan has done a fantastic job, don't you think Clarissa?"

Valentine smiled.

" you lied to me. When I needed a brother most, you showed up _and LIED to me!"_

Jonathan looked up and met her eyes. His mouth opened as if to speak, but he quickly closed it again.

" Jonathan, would you be so kind as to untie your dear sister?"

Jonathan walked over to Clary and cut the rope that bound her wrists. Before he could even make sense of what happened, Clary slapped her himin the face.

" _I hate you." _she whispered so only he could hear.

Jonathan flinched at her words, but didn't respond, only cut the rope that bound her legs and walked back to stand with his father.

Clary stood up and stared at Jonathan. Her eyes were full of hate, and regret and pain. When he finally looked back, his green eyes, the ones they both shared, just looked broken.

" Why have you brought me here?" Clary said, breaking the silence.

" so that we can be a family." Valentine rep lie, the gleam in his eyes getting stronger.

Suddenly it all made sense. The puzzle pieces finally fit. Valentine had taken her mother.

" you're crazy. You've lost your mind! Blood isn't what connects a family. Love does."

" But Clarissa, I do love you. I love you and Jonathan _and_ your mother."

"No you don't. If you did, you'd know what my favourite food is. If you did, you'd know what I was for Halloween in grade two. If you did, you would have been there _all_ these years. It's too late for_ love _Valentine. You gave that up the moment you divorced my mother."

The gleam in Valentines eyes was abruptly replaced by anger.

" We will be a family, whether you like it or not!"

Clary looked at valentine, looked at the hatred in his eyes, looked at the man who claimed to be her father and she let out the loudest most obnoxious laugh she had in her. She laughed harder than she had in weeks. This man was a crazy, power hungry, _child. _He wanted that perfect family image to be his.

" You can't force family Valentine."

Out of know where, clary heard a deep rumbling, like an engine. then the door of the room burst open, and Jace rode in on his motorcycle. He jumped off, and ran towards Clary, pushing her behind himself.

_He came._

**Hey guys! so I hope your still enjoying! This chapter was actually so hard to write, I had to plan so much! ****but you guys are worth it so :) Oh yeah, have you guys heard about the mortal instruments tv series?! I hope they still cast lilly collins as clary, she's like my favourite actress in the WORLD! anyways, please review!**


	14. Chapter 14

Jace didn't know what to do next. In the beginning the biggest problem was finding her, so he hadn't really planned beyond that. Now that he was standing with his girlfriend, ( well technically he hadn't officially asked her to be his girlfriend, but it seemed kind of implied now.) behind his back, facing her psychotic father and his best friend that turned out to have betrayed him, he didn't know what to do.

Jonathan was the first to speak.

" didn't think you'd show up." He smirked.

The smirking had started in seventh, when they both got into Jace's adoptive mother's science class. Since they'd both known her for almost half of their lives, they got through the year by messing around in her class. One of them would make a funny comment, or pull a small prank, and when Maryse, Jace's mom, would get angry, they'd both smirk at the exact same time, making the class laugh harder, and Maryse angrier. Needless to say, things wern't great at home that year… That's why Jace wasn't there for most of it.

After that, the smirk became a sort of habit. When Jace hung out with Jonathan years later they'd still smirk at the same time, as if it were ingrained into their minds.

It seemed ridicules now that he thought about it, but when Jonathan smirked, Jace realized Just how much his friend's betrayal really meant to him.

" Well I did." Jace replied coldly, "And now we're going to leave."

Jace grabbed Clary's hand and took a step, but stopped almost immediately after hearing a gun click.

" you're not going anywhere." Valentine said.

The gun fired, and before he could do or say anything Clary jumped in front of him pushing him back, into the wall.


	15. PART 3: Forgotten, Chapter 15

Clary waited for the pain, But she never felt it. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw Valentine staring at the lying figure, bleeding to death on the floor in front of him. It took a couple moments for her mind to process that it was Jonathan, her brother, lying there on the ground moments away from leaving her forever.

His green eyes were still open to look at her and Jace.

" I'm sorry. I love yo-"

He didn't finish his last sentence. He coughed his last cough, blood coming from his mouth, and closed his eyes for the last time.

" Clary, let's go." Jace said quietly taking her by the hand.

they ran out of the room, but not before hearing Valentine's loud, horrific cries.

They ran out of the building, just in time to see five police cars and an ambulance pull into the Wear house parking. The police officers gave them a quick look before rushing into the building.

Clary turned to face Her golden boy, and sobbed into his chest. He put his arms around her and held her tight.

The rest of the night was a blur. Clary sobbed again when she saw two officers carrying Jonathan's body out of the building, but she still caught a glimpse of red as a second body was carried out after her bother's.

" mom?" she said out loud already running toward the officers who were now lowering her mother on to a gurney.

" mom!" She ran up to the bed, and saw her mother for the first time in weeks. She was bruised up and scraped. At first she thought she'd lost her, But upon further examination, Clary saw she was still breathing. She hugged her, and kissed her forehead, before the cops came and told her that her mother had to be sent to the hospital right away, or she wouldn't survive.

Jace sat with her on the ride to the hospital, And held her hand up until the moment they took her away to be examined for injuries.

They were both questioned and given food, before Clary was finally aloud to see her mother. When she walked into her room, she had just woken up. She sat up in her bed, looking lost and confused. there was a bandage on her head and a cast on her arm, but it was her.

Clary ran up to her mother, and hugged her. She told her she missed her and that she loved her before finally looking at her face, expecting an answer, expecting relief, expecting love in her eyes, but instead they were blank.

" mom?" she asked tears running down her face.

The blank expression didn't leave Jocelyn's face. After a few agonizing moments, she finally answered her.

" I'm sorry, but don't know who you are." she then turned to her doctor.

" Is my husband here? I'm sure he's worried sick."

Clary was stunned. Her mother didn't know who she was. She had looked right at her, right into her eyes. Her mother had simply forgotten her.

**Hey guys! so... it's been a ****while... I know Im really sorry for leaving you guys that ummm... abrupt chapter ending then not posting for like a month... but I was really busy. School had started up, and i was training my new puppy, and a lot of things happened, but Im back now, and I should be updating quite regularly. thanks to anyone sand everyone who's still with me at this point, I will do my best for the rest of this story and for all the rest to come! I love your guys, and please review!**


	16. Chapter 16

Clary ran out of the hospital room, and made a b-line for the main doors. She sprinted harder than she ever had before. She didn't know where she was running, but she just kept going. Her lungs felt like they were on fire, and her legs were beginning to go numb. The salty taste of tears began to fill her mouth, and eventually she could no longer breathe. The saliva was blocking her wind pipe, so finally she stopped, and sank down to her knees. She could feel the hardness of the gravel beneath her but she welcomed the slight pain. Clary had been so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn't notice she had broken down in the middle of a bridge. She didn't notice people passing her, giving her strange, disapproving looks. She didn't even notice the loud foot steps running after her until she was engulfed by two strong arms pulling her in. Finally Clary looked up into the eyes of her golden boy, and she sobbed into his chest.

" she doesn't remember me." She said softly, her mind still not fully around he idea.

" She doesn't remember me!" she said again, louder. "She looked right into my eyes- _her _eyes- and had no idea who I was."

Jace said nothing. He just let her tears soak his shirt, holding on to her tightly, like she might disintegrate if he ever let go. He didn't know how long they sat there, but eventually the tears stopped. Jace placed an arm underneath Clary's legs while the other supported her back, and he carried her back to the hospital. From there Maryse, Jace's mother, picked them up in their blue mini van, and grove them to their house. There Jace lay the sleeping Clary on the bed in the guest room, turned off the lights, and let her sleep.

Clary woke to a bright ray of sun in her eyes. Her stomach muscles hurt from all the sobbing the day before, as she tried to get out of bed. She looked around the room, expecting the same blue curtains, and beige carpet, that she had grown used to, but instead her eyes laid upon red satin curtains and a hardwood floor. Clary only then realized that the bed she had been sleeping on was much comfier than her usual one, and there was a familiar smell in the air.

Suddenly a rush of memories flooded her head, her mother forgetting,her running off, _Jace_. That was the smell of the house. It was faint but, Clary could tell. As if he had known she was thinking about him, Jace walked in.

" hey, feel'n better?" He asked calmly.

" sort of. I guess the shock wore off but I still feel like shit."

Jace chuckled.

" Don't worry Clary. everything will be alright… probably."

She looked at him, clearly annoyed.

" okay, sorry that was mean, but its the truth. If you want the exact diagnostic, we can go back to the hospital today and ask the doctor."

Clary pondered that. She _did_ want to know if her mom would be okay, but she wasn't sure if she was ready to go see her again. After seeing that empty look in her mother's eyes, the little pieces of Clary that had been cracking for the past few weeks, finally started to fall off.

" I think I want to wait till tomorrow." she finally answered.

Jace came over and wrapped his arms around her.

" anything you want." he said into her hair.

Clary leaned back from the embrace, and looked into his eyes. They were as beautiful as ever, and all of the sudden, Her focus changed to his lips. They were perfect. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pulled her face up to his. Their lips met, and Clary's world exploded. The kiss, soft at first gradually grew more intense, until Clary's back was against the wall.

Jace pulled away, and looked straight into her eyes.

" Clary, I love you."

She waited a heartbeat before finally answering,

" I love you too"


	17. Chapter 17

**Hey guys! so I hope you like this chapter, ****I'm**** really sorry for not posting as often as I should, but Ill hopefully be posting more now :) Omg i started a new series, its called vampire ****academy****, and just AHHHHHHH! I love it soooooooo much! if you ****haven't**** read it yet, so so ****immediately , it'll change your life! okay so on with the story :)**

" she has retrograde amnesia." The doctor said.

" what the fuck is that?" Clary didn't mean to be so abrupt or rude, but the sight of the hospital had stored up some unwanted feelings again.

" retrograde amnesia", the doctor replied not even acknowledging Clary's profanity,

" is when a person looses there memories from a certain point in time, usually caused by a traumatic experience. It's sort of like your mind trying to block out what ever was hurting you."

Clary took a few moments to process this. Finally she asked her first intelligent question of the day, ( most of the previous ones that day, had included some inappropriate language…)

" what does my mother still remember?"

the doctor replied professionally as always, but Clary was certain she'd saw a sad look cross his face.

" Your mother believes that she is still happily married to her husband, and has a 2 year old son."

" Jonathan…" Clary murmured.

As much as she was angry with her brother for kidnapping her, she'd grown to like him over the past few weeks. His death, despite what she'd been telling everyone, had, had it toll on her. A little part of her had been crushed, as the light faded from her only brother's eyes. Suddenly a realization hit her and a single tear escaped her eyes.

" my mother doesn't know that Jonathan's dead." She hadn't stated it as a question, but she looked at the doctor for conformation. He nodded.

" when can I see her?" she asked.

" now, if you'd like. She's ready for you."

_Yeah, but I'm not ready for her_, Clary thought, but she didn't say it out loud. Instead she nodded, and walked into her mother's room. It was like any other hospital room. Everything was white, including the flowers that sat on the window sill.

Clary's mother lay in her bed, looking only slightly better than before. Her green eyes, underlined by dark circles. She walked up to the bed, not ready for the task at hand.

" hi, mo-" Clary stopped herself. " Jocelyn. How are you?"

Her mother looked at her, still not recognizing her own daughter.

" hello, I'm fine. I'd really like to see my husband, but for some reason they won't send him in."

There was a light tone to her voice, as if this was all some big misunderstanding.

" Jocelyn, I'm going to tell you something that you don't wanna hear, but its something you have to know."

Jocelyn gave Clary a puzzled look, but didn't contradict her, so Clary took it as a sign to keep going.

" Your…. husband, Valentine Morgenstern and you have been divorced for sixteen years. You haven't seen your son since. He's not two, he's eighteen…. Or he _was _eighteen."

Jocelyn's calm expression, was turning progressively into one of anger.

" I'm sorry, but I think you should leave." she finally said.

" I will, but I have to tell you everything first."

Clary's hands were starting to shake, but she wasn't sure if it was from anger or nervousness.

" Valentine kidnapped you three weeks ago. He kept you hidden in a wear house- thats why your in such bad condition. He sent Jonathan- your son- out to find me and make me trust him. I did, and then he poisoned me and kidnapped me as well. Jace- my boyfriend- came to rescue me, but valentine tried to shoot him. In the end Jonathan took the bullet for both of us. He died."

Jocelyn was crying, but I could still see the denial on her face.

" why, would my son save _you? _I don't know you! And my son is two, not eighteen! Stop lying to me, and leave!"

Clary started to cry. She was about to leave, when she looked back.

" I'm Clarissa Fray, your daughter and Jonathan's sister."

And with that, she turned the nob on the door and walked out, head held high, despite the rush of tears running down her face.


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys! so there's finally gonna be more fluff for clary and ****jace :) yay! I really hope you guys are still enjoying this story! please please please review! honestly your reviews, good or bad, mean the world to me, because they help me progress my writing. I love writing, and I love it when other people love MY writing, so please give me feed back! Iove all of you who have actually stuck with this story thus far, and hopefully, if enough of you guys review and read it, I will finish it. thank you so much guys! now enjoy this happy chapter :)**

Clary sat at the dinner table with Jace, Maryse ( his adoptive mother) Isabelle, Alec and Max (his adoptive siblings). His adoptive father, Robert, was out of town on a business meeting, but would be back in a couple days. There was an awkward mood in the air, a silence nobody felt courageous enough to break, from fear of having to actually continue the conversation. Max, the youngest Lightwood child, attempted several times, but all he got were a few nods and ocasional grunts, or smiles. Needless to say, even he gave up eventually.

The Lightwood children all shared a sort of lankiness to them, but thats where the family resemblances ended. Isabelle, or as her family iced to call her, Izzy, was tall and beautiful. her eyes were an intense shade of dark brown, and her dark black hair framed her face perfectly. There was a kind of confident aura around her. Clary had a feeling that if Isabelle Lightwood was ever put into a fight, well, Clary wouldn't be surprised if the other person didn't make it.

Alec also had a confident air to him, but in a different sense than Isabelle. There was no dobt he'd win in a fight, judging by the muscle that engulfed his body, but it would obviously take more convincing and logic to actually get him to use his strength. Isabelle looked like any other teenager, eager to have fun, seeking adventure. Alec seemed more cautious.

Lastly there was Max. Max looked the friendliest of the bunch. His grey eyes, could be read so easily, it was like reading a book. He had brown hair, and a clumsy looking body. Clary had a feeling that when he actually grew into it, he would probably be as attractive as his brother.

" So…." Maryse started, again trying to beat the awkward silence.

" Clary will you be stain with us for long?" Her tone was polite, but she clearly wanted to know the duration of my stay.

" ummm… I'm not sure, but if you guys need your space I totally get… I have another friend to stay with…"

Jace finally looked up from his plate.

" no it's okay, you can stay with us."

He looked pleadingly at Maryse.

" yes of course, that won't be a problem. I'll set up the guest room properly after dinner." Much to Clary's surprise, there was no agitation, or anger in Maryse's voice. She really was fine with Clary staying in her home. It _was _a big house though. Heck, it was a mansion. There were four floors each one the size of an apartment building floor, complete with 5 master bedrooms.

" It's been passed on in the lightwood family for like 5 generations I think." Jace had told her the day before.

"It was a cathedral at one point, which is ironic considering the lightwoods are all pretty much atheist." Jace smirked.

" it's okay, really. You don't need to prepare anything for me, the room is fine the way it is . " Clary protested.

"no, no, it's fine. We should move you to the second floor anyways, I mean thats where all the the kid's bedrooms are."

Isabelle's expression changed into one of annoyance, probably because of her mother calling her a 'kid'.

Maryse Chuckled at her daughter's glare. " calm down Izzy."

Isabelle didn't say anything, but her face held an indignant look for the rest of dinner. Clary decided that she definitely never wanted to be on Isabelle's bad side.

After dinner everyone went their separate ways, Max, Izzy and Alec all went to their bedrooms, while Jace and Maryse helped Clary set up her room. Maryse lead them to the elevator, (yes the house was that big. they needed an _elevator._) and pressed the second floor button. She got some clean bedding from the closet, ( Clary got to choose from at least 5 different colours) and then made the bed for her. When everything was done, ( towels, soap shampoo in the bathroom etc.) Maryse departed for bed, leaving Clary and Jace alone for the first time that day.

" Are _you _okay with me staying in your house?" Clary finally asked.

He looked at her lovingly.

"Of course." he smirked then added, " I think any guy would be more than okay with a hot girl that wasn't related to him, living in his house"

Clary couldn't help but blush.

" The real question is, are _you _okay living in your _boyfriends_ house?"

Clary blushed even more. She hated how easily it showed on her light skin.

" you're my _boyfriend now?_" Clary asked.

Now it was Jace's turn to blush.

" I am if you want me to be… I mean I kind of already told you I love you…"

Clary laughed.

" right, guys don't usually tell you that after only a month of dating… but most guys also don't go through so much trauma in a month so I guess it's an exception…" Clary trailed off suddenly noticing how close they were standing.

Neither of them said anything else for a while. Both taking each other in. Their faces were only millimetres apart, when they heard the door creek open. Clary jumped away from Jace, head turning to the door.

It was Isabelle. She looked at at our awkward state and laughed.

" wow, hope I'm not interrupting anything…." she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at Jace, who smirked in response.

" nothing you haven't already seen.." Isabelle grinned, apparently unfazed by Jace's…. suggestion.

" what do you want Iz?"

Isabelle, to my dismay, turned to me.

" come child, we must discuss your relationship with my brother." she snorted, looking at Clary's distressed expression.

" don't worry, it's more for you than him" then she left, expecting clary to follow. After one more look at Jace, she did.


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys so this is just sort of a fun chapter, Im thinking about updating again today, since I ****haven't****in such a long time. So with out further ****a due, chapter 19 :)**

Walking into Isabelle's room, was like walking into a department store, after a dozen or so of five year olds had come in and destroyed everything. She looked at Clary's expresso and laughed.

" the whole neat and tidiness shit is for losers." Then she looked at Clary sceptically. " Are _you _a loser?"

For the first time in front of Isabelle Clary laughed.

" No! Of course not! Who the hell has time to keep they're room clean, and then actually live in it."

Isabelle looked her right in the eyes.

" Okay. You have passed the test. I allow you to date Jace. Now I just have to see if JAce is worthy of dating you."

Clary looked at her with unbelieving eyes.

" alright then… Umm… Isabelle can I use your washroom?"

" oh, sure."

As clary was walking away, Isabelle called after her,

" oh, and don't call me Isabelle, I save that name for my enemies. Call me Izzy."

Clary laughed. " got it!"

Clary ended up hanging out with Izzy for two hours before Jace came in.

" Izzy, why are you stealing my girlfriend. I just got her!"

Izzy's face went straight and in a matter-of-fact tone, she said.

" the test of Jace's worthiness is now in session."

Clary suppressed a giggle.

" Clary which movie shall we watch tonight?"

Clary pretended to think really hard about a movie, nut in reality, Clary and Izy had one already picked out.

" Mean Girls." she said casually.

" Clary. You are not serious! I hate that movie!"

Just then a guy wearing sparkly gold eyeliner, and an extremely fancy suit, walked into the room.

" who dares insult the greatest movie ever made?!"

Clary looked at him, bewildered. Izzy, realizing that Clary would not know this over glittered being, explained.

" Clary this is Magnus." Clary was just about to give a 'hi' when Magnus interrupted.

" _Excuse you Isabelle Lightwood! _How dare you not introduce her to me first! I am clearly the superior in this room, and I demand you recognize that!"

Izzy laughed, but returned the dramatic flare.

" _Oh Great Magnus Bane! I so humbly apologize for the awkward inconvenience I have caused you! This," _she gestured to Clary, " _is Clary Fray, Jace's new girlfriend." _

Magnus, looking plased then stuck out his hand for Clary to shake.

" pleasure. I am Alec's boyfriend."

Clary shook the hand.

" cool. I hope you guys don't mind me hanging out with you tonight."

Magus's mouth was already open to reply when Alec interrupted.

" It's fine. We'd love the company. Also, I think Izzy needs another girl to talk to… you know apart from Magnus."

" Alexander Lightwood!…." Magnus went on another dramatic rant and this time, Clary laughed alongside Izzy and Jace, feeling surprisingly included into they're little band of Drama-queens.


	20. Chapter 20

Clary was surprised. Never did she think that she would fit in with a group of people like Jace, and Izzy, yet somehow she did. She found herself actually laughing with everyone else, unlike at school when she would hang out with simon and his friends. Then she would find herself giving fake smiles, and pretending to laugh so hard her stomach hurt when really, she didn't find their jokes or conversations interesting in the slightest. The idea that she was just in the wrong crowd of people never even crossed her mind, until Magnus was talking some sort of nonsense and everyone was laughing. She noticed that when they laughed, she laughed, but not because she was forcing herself to do so. No, she was laughing because that was what she felt like doing. She finally understood why people would stay out until ungodly hours of the night just talking to their friends on the phone, Or coming to school early and leaving later just to get those few precious moments to exchange a few jokes with their friends. Clary had always had simon, but theres only so much you can laugh about with one person everyday.

Clary, Jace, Izzy, Magnus and Alec had managed to get through the entire first mean girls movie, and half way through the second one, before Maryse had walked in and told them it was time to get ready for bed.

" Magnus, are you staying over tonight?" She asked happily.

" yep! Brought a sleeping bag and everything!" he chirped.

" Wonderful," she said smiling.

Maryse was about to leave when Izzy said,

" Mom, is it okay if we all sleep in hear tonight?"

" Sure, I think that's a great idea. It'll give Clary a chance to get used to the house before she has to sleep in it all alone." Then she left the room.

" Okay, I'm taking the couch!" Izzy shouted.

" Dibs on the duvet!" Magnus echoed in a over-exaggerated british accent.

" Alright, I'll go get the extra mattress." Jace grumbled.

"I'll come with you." Clary said quietly.

They left the room, heading towards the nearest guest room. for a mattress.

" so, do you guys do this often? Impromptu sleep overs I mean." Clary said.

" Yeah, I guess. Izzy and Alec weren't actually that close until I came along."

" why?" clary asked cautiously.

" I don't really know. I remember coming here, into this big house, and Izzy trying really hard to make me feel at home. It may not seem like it, but Izzy actually cares a lot about whether people are comfortable around her. Anyways, I guess they bonded a lot while trying to make me comfortable. They hung out with me a lot since I didn't have any friends yet, and slowly They got closer as well."

" Do you remember what it was like before you came here?" Clary asked, feeling like she was walking in a mine field.

" sadly, yes." He didn't elaborate, and Clary didn't pry.

They finally found a guest bedroom, and Jace turned to Clary, almost nervously.

"Do you want your own mattress or are you good with sharing?"

Clary thought about being in such close proximity with Jace. Half of her, the louder half, wanted nothing more that to fall asleep in his arms. To feel safe, just like that night when she'd fled from the hospital. But the other half of her couldn't shake the nervousness that always followed her when she was with Jace. After a bit of thought, she finally decided on an answer.

" One mattress is fine… as long as it's not twin sized."

Jace grinned at her, " Noted."

Clary couldn't suppress the giggle that came out of her, which turned Jace's grin into an outright smile.

Jace grabbed the mattress and carried it back to where everyone was waiting to finish the movie.

They came in just in time to witness Izzy throwing a pillow at Magnus and Alec who were making out on the duvet. When she noticed Clary and Jace, she turned to them with a look of outrage.

" I leave to go to the bathroom for three frick'n minutes, and these two are already making out!"

" Hey. The heart wants what the heart wants." Jace said placing his hands dramatically over his heart.

" That, my dear brother, was very poetic, but i'm afraid this has got to do more with whats in their pants than in their hearts." Izzy retorted in that snarky way of hers.

Alec blushed, but Magnus looked as calm as ever. Clary couldn't help but notice that neither of them were denying Izzy's words. That fact alone sent Clary into another fit of laughter that was soon accompanied by Jace and Izzy and eventually Magnus himself. Alec on the other hand, stayed quiet, but even he couldn't help the smile slowly creeping onto his face.

When the movie finally came to an end, everybody got ready to go to sleep, in their designated sleeping areas. Izzy on the couch, Magnus and Alec on the duvet, and lastly, Jace and Clary on the Mattress in the far corner of the room.

" That's a sexy look Fray." Jace said with his signature smirk displayed proudly on his face.

Clary was secretly proud of herself for not blushing, as she got under the covers of the their shared mattress. She was wearing a tight tank top with some sweat pants that Izzy had lent her.

" thanks, I was really dressing to impress tonight" she answered, the sarcasm almost dripping from her words.

Jace chuckled at that, before following her lead and getting into the make-shift bed. He wrapped his long muscular arms around her so that her back was to his chest. Again Clary felt safe. She turned her dead slightly to face him.

" Tomorrow's my birthday." She said nervously.

"Really? We better do something special then."

" no, Jace. You don't get it. Tomorrow is my birthday, and my mom doesn't even remember. I think I should go see her, but I feel like that's just going to ruin my whole day."

Jace looked her right in the eyes.

" Clary, I won't let it ruin your day. Tomorrow you re going to have the best birthday of your life. Then we're going to go visit your mom together. You and me."

Clary leaned in, and touched her lips to his.

" Okay." She whispered, then she drifted into a deep sleep, still wrapped in Jace's strong comforting arms.


	21. Chapter 21

" Happy Birthday!" Izzy, Jace, Magnus and Alec yelled at a very much still half asleep, Clary.

Clary was used to her _mom_ waking her up on her birthday every year. She'd tell her 'happy birthday' , then she'd go make her some burnt pancakes. (Jocelyn was a great cook, except for when it came to pancakes) As Clary stared up into the eyes of her new friends, a feeling of both joy and sadness started to creep over her.

" hey guys." she said, her voice still groggy from sleep. " thanks."

" This, Clarissa Fray, is just the beginning." Izzy said Dramatically, " We have an entire day of torture- I mean excitement" Her smile held an evil glint in her eyes.

" Izzy! Don't scare her!" Alec exclaimed.

" Hey! She may have passed the test to date Jace, but she hasn't been tested to survive _me _yet."

They all laughed including Clary. Maybe this birthday wouldn't be so bad after all. Suddenly a Phone rang, and it took Clary a few moments to realize it was her's.

" Shit," she said suddenly remembering never having told Simon that she was crashing with Jace the night before. she started digging around the room looking for it.

" Found it!" Magnus yelled.

And before she could stop him, he was already answering.

" Hello, Clary's phone."

After listening for a few moments, Magnus smiled and held the phone out to Clary, " That's weird, they seem to be asking for you."

Clary took it and hesitantly said "hello?"

" Clary? Where the hell are you? And who was that answering the phone? That did not sound like Luke, or even Jace! Where are you? Oh! And happy birthday."

Clary laughed. " Hi Simon. I'm fine, I'm staying with Jace and his family for a bit. Wait a sec," she held the phone to her chest, so that Simon wouldn't over hear,

" Is it alright if I invite Simon over? He hasn't missed my birthday… ever."

" Of course," Alec said happily.

She placed the phone back to her ear, " Simon, wanna come over here and celebrate with us? Apparently exciting plans are going to be in session."

There was a pause at the other end before Simon finally answered.

" Sure. Text me the address."


	22. Chapter 22

An hour later everyone was cramped into Izzy's SUV, heading to some unknown destination.

" so, where are we going?" Simon asked nervously.

He was sitting in the passengers seat beside Izzy looking anxious.

" We're almost there, just be patient." Izzy answered happily.

They drove for another fifteen minutes before Izzy finally came to a stop in front of the aquarium.

" TADA!" Magnus sang excitedly. " I love the dolphin show here."

Alec smirked. " Why does that not surprise me?"

" Alec! Your supposed to support me!" Magnus yelled dramatically.

Alec laughed and kissed his boyfriend on the cheek. Magnus shut up.

" Wow, bro! Major PDA much?" Izzy yelled sarcastically. Alec blushed anyways.

Clary looked at the big building covered in pictures of sea creatures. She remembered the last time she'd been at the aquarium when she was small. She was there for a birthday party for a girl in her class. While everyone else was watching a shark feeding show with amazement, Clary had gotten bored. They swam around a tank eating whatever the 'professional feeders' were throwing into it.

She remembered thinking that she could find her way back to group after the show was over, so she went to look at the tropical animal section of the aquarium. It was hot and smelled pretty bad, in the small closed off area, but the animals and atmosphere was so beautiful that Clary dealt with it. About ten minutes later, she went back towards where the show had been, but the group was gone. She started to panic. Clary had never been lost before in her life. Being only eight, she hadn't had a cell phone, so she did the only thing she could have. She'd gone to a dest labelled 'information centre' and told the old lady working there that she was lost. After a while, they eventually found the others and everything was fine, but Clary never forgot that feeling of being lost.

" Hey? You okay?" Jace asked seeing the daze Clary had gone into.

" huh? Oh, yeah. Sorry. I just haven't been here in so long."

They got out of the car and Jace took Clary's hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. They walked over to the ticket line and bought all day passes.

" I told you guys that the dolphin show was amazing!" Magnus yelled as they tried to escape the after crowd. Watching sea mammals jump through hoops hadn't eliminated Clary's nervousness of seeing her mother later, but it did manage to distract her.

" Okay Magnus. The show was pretty fantastic." Izzy admitted grudgingly.

Alec laughed, as Magnus puts his arm around him.

" Kay, We're gonna go get some food, Izzy wanna come?" Jace said when they finally managed to escape the crowd.

" Nah, that line up looks hella long! You guys go buy. I'm sure you'll find some way to 'entertain yourselves' while waiting and I don't particularly want to be there to witness your... Creativity…"

Jace laughed, as Clary's face turned a beat like shade of pink.

" I'm going to the bathroom." Izzy announced. " I'm not risking staying here with you two either." She looks pointedly at Magnus, who was too busy whispering something into Alec's ear to come up with an insult.

" Yeah, I'll come with you and stand outside the door…." Simon said, his expression oozing unease. " I don't like the look of this scene."

Izzy snickered. " Usually, I'd call you a perve for following me to the washroom, but under the circumstances…" She smirked before making her way towards the bathroom, a blushing Simon trailing behind.

" so what should we order?" Jace pondered looking at the menu while him and Clary stood in line.

" I don't know, are any of you vegetarian?" Clary asked, already predicting the answer.

" Ha!" Jace exclaimed, "Izzy tried to be when we were ten and our pet pig had died, but she didn't last long. Probably a month at most. She doesn't eat pork anymore though, so anything with bacon is out of the question."

Clary laughed. " Okay, then we could get cheese burgers and fries for everyone?"

" Yeah, sure." He answered. Clary smiled weakly at him.

" Hey." He said, lifting her head to look her in the eyes. " Stop worrying about seeing your mom later. I'm sure the doctors have convinced her of her condition by now."

" I know, but it's just… hard. Today especially. I mean seventeen years ago on this exact day, my mom frick'n gave _birth _to me. I'm no expert but I'm pretty sure that hurts. Like a lot."

Jace chuckled. " Maybe we can bring something that might jog her memory. Is there anything, like a certain object, that could trigger some sort of memory?"

Clary thought about that. Her mom had never really had many keep sakes. From what Clary could tell, her relationship with her parents was never that great, not until the divorce. Suddenly an idea struck her.

" What if I bring some of her sketch books? Since I was little, my mom would do this weird sort of project where she'd draw my portrait every year. It's actually scary how accurate they are. When I saw the newest one, it was like looking into a mirror."

" Wow." Jace said sounding amazed. " That's possibly the coolest thing I've ever heard."

Clary was about to answer that she doubted it, but it was they're turn to order. Jace ordered the burgers and some drinks. They then stood off to the side and waited for their number, 23, to be called.

" Jace," Clary started to say, "we never really talked about what happened with Jonathan… Are you… Okay?"

He looked like he was about to smirk, but, decided against it.

" I don't really want to talk about it now. I guess I'm still sort of working it all out in my head."

Clary took his hands in her own, making him look down at her face.

" you don't have to figure it all out in your head. You can talk to me about it."

He smiled at her, but it seemed distant. Like his mind was somewhere else.

" I'll make you a deal," she said trying to catch his attention, " If I can stay in that hospital room today until the end of the meeting, you need to talk to me. About Jonathan. It doesn't matter what he did, he was you're best friend. I know his death had to have affected you."

The vacancy left Jace's eyes. He smiled at Clary and nodded. " Okay." he whispered before kissing her lightly on the forehead.


	23. Chapter 23

Clary felt as if her heart was trying to free itself from the prison of her rib cage. It pounded in her her chest, as if it was pleading, banging at the walls of her insides. Her legs were trying to turn against her brain, barely moving forwards through the doors of he hospital. The only thing that kept Clary going was Jace's hand enveloping her own, occasionally giving it a reassuring squeeze.

When Clary finally made it through the doors and into the prestige white building, Jace lead her over to the front desk, where luckily, he did all the talking.

"Hello, we're here to see Jocelyn Fray." He said.

The man typed something into the computer before looking up and telling them which room her mother was recovering in. They walked over to the elevator and Clary pressed the button labelled four with shaky fingers. Jace took her hand, now possessing both of them in his own, balancing the two sketch books between his legs. Clary didn't know how he could make that look so frick'n graceful, but somehow he did.

" Clary. You need to calm down. The more skittish you are, the harder it's gonna be for your mom to regain her memory. She needs you to be _you _right now."

Clary knew he was right, but all she wanted to do was scream. Scream because this was s'o unfair. Scream because she didn't deserve this. Scream because she just felt like screaming. Instead she forced herself to take in a deep breath and calm her racing heart beat. She took back the sketch books from Jace then lightly kissed him on the cheek.

" How do you always know what to say?" she asked, half to herself.

" I don't." He answered. " I just know when not to welcome the silence."

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open. Clary walked through them already feeling herself loosing the battle to stay calm. She could almost hear the annoying voice of what she imagined was anxiety in her head. _'victory!'_ It yelled. Clary wished she could punch it in the face.

Clary had been so lost in her own mind that she hadn't noticed that they had already made to the room labelled 'Jocelyn Fray'.

" This is it." she said nervously.

"Clary, you're not going to die in there. You're just stopping by to talk to your mother. It's only thirty minutes, remember our deal? Thirty minutes in there, then I'll talk to you about Jonathan."

Clary nodded momentarily unable to speak.

" Do you want me to go in with you?" Jace asked concerned.

" No." she whispered, not trusting her own voice. This, she decided, was something she had to do on her own. So she gathered up all the courage she could muster, moved the two sketch books into one arm and opened the door.

Jocelyn lay in her bed, not sleeping, but too still to be deemed awake. She looked like she was in some sort of trans. As if the news of her life had completely broke her, down to the very bones under her skin.

" Jocelyn?" Clary said cautiously. She'd contemplated calling her _mom_, but eventually decided against it. She didn't want to cause her mother any more stress than as necessary.

Jocelyn turned her head a the sound of her name.

" Hello Clary. Have you come to try and help me?" Clary's mom sounded so empty, so lost that it was a miracle that Clary hadn't bolted out of the room, right then and there.

" Ummm… Yeah. I brought you these to help you uh, jog your memories a bit." She handed the sketch books to her mother awkwardly. She stared as her mother flipped the pages with widening eyes. Clary had brought two sketch books. One was filled with the portraits of Clary, while the other was just the sketch book that Jocelyn was working in before she'd be Taken away.

" Oh my god." Jocelyn whispered to herself. " I remember drawing these." She looked up at Clary's confused expression and explained, as best she could, what was going on in her head.

" I remember myself drawing these pictures, but I don't remember actually looking at you, or anything that was happening before during or after. I just remember seeing my own hands drawing these lines on this paper."

There was little progress after that. The rest of the meeting mainly consisted of Clary filling her mother in on their life.

" Is your full name Clarissa?" Jocelyn asked at one point.

Clary nodded, almost hopeful for a second.

" I thought so," Jocelyn said lost in thought again, " I've always wanted a daughter named Clarissa." Jocelyn must have then noticed the hurt betrayed in Clary's eyes, because she quickly tried to fix her mistake.

" I mean, I always knew when I'd have a daughter I'd name her Clarissa."

Clary smiled, tried to cover up how much this whole conversation was killing her inside. When her eyes finally landed on the clock on the wall, and saw that her time was up, a wave of relief flooded over her. She excused herself from the room, and told her mother she'd probably come back in about two days.

Jace was already waiting for her outside the room, two cups o steaming coffee in his hands.

" I went down to Java Jones while you were with your mom. I got a black coffee."

Clary grinned and took the coffee, sipping the heavenly caffeinated substance as if it was her only life line, and she was about to die.


	24. Chapter 24

" So how are you feeling?" Clary finally asked. They'd been awkwardly sitting on Jace's bed for about fifteen minutes in complete silence.

" I don't know." Jace ran his hand through his hair and leaned back on the bed closing his eyes.

" Upset I guess. I just really wish… he'd chosen me."

He looked up and saw Clary's confused gaze.

" Since we were little, Jonathan's father never particularly liked me much. So, often he would purposely make plans that would interfere with ours. Like one time we planned to go on a camping trip for the weekend, but then the day before we left Valentine told Jonathan that he had planned a road trip for that weekend and he couldn't go camping with me. they ended up getting into a huge fight about it so the next day he blew him off and came with me anyways. He had this giant bruise on his arm though." Jace paused for a second, lost in his own thoughts.

" I guess I feel like the one time it really mattered, he'd finally chosen _him_ over me."

Clary looked down at her lap letting her hair fall forward like a curtain, covering her tears.

" He was talking to you then." She finally said after what felt like hours. " His last words were about to be 'I love you'."

Jace grabbed Clary's hand and pulled her down to lie next to him on the bed. She lay her head on his chest, feeling his steady heart beat pound against her head.

" Jace? Do you miss him a lot?" Clary asked after minutes of silence.

" yeah." He finally said. " I do."

Clary couldn't help it anymore. A tear finally managed to escape her eyes and then it was like suddenly the dam was broken and the tears wouldn't stop. All this time she'd been so worried about Jace and how he as handling the death of his best friend, but in all that time it only just struck her that Jonathan was really dead. That her _only brother _was dead.

" Clary, It's okay. We're going to be okay. Loss is something we all need to learn to deal with."

Clary nodded her head. He sat up, pulling her up with him, and wiped the tears from her eyes with the sleeve of his shirt.

It took Clary half an hour to finally calm down, and the whole time Jace cradled her in his arms, trying to soothe her with his calm steady voice. When she'd finally stopped shaking in his arms, Jace got up and lead her to the kitchen. There he made her a grilled cheese sandwich.

" Didn't think you could cook." Clary sniffled. It was the first thing she'd said since the tears had finally stopped flowing they're heavy stream.

" I can't really," He answered, eyes glinting. " A few years ago though, Mayrise had had to go on some business trip, so she'd left Alec, Izzy, Max and me home alone for three days. When she'd come back, we had all basically starved ourselves since none of us could cook…. Izzy tried a few times but it was so bad we couldn't eat it."

Clary laughed, imagining little versions of her friends standing around a kitchen with spatulas and whisks in their hands, confused expressions written on all of their faces.

" After that, Mayrise showed each of us how to make one dish, so that if we were ever put into that situation again, we would all know how to make at least one thing so we wouldn't starve ourselves again."

Clary looked down at the perfect grilled cheese that Jace had dropped onto a plate and skidded toward her.

" I see you've perfected your dish by now." Clary said, cutting the sandwich in half.

She took one of the pieces before sliding the plate back over to Jace. They bit into they're sandwiches, which were delicious. After quickly fishing they're small meal they made their way back to Jace's room.

" So," Jace said smiling, " How was your seventeenth birthday Clary?"

They were sitting cross-legged on the soft carpet floor facing towards each other.

Clary laughed. " It was almost wonderful."

" Almost?" Jace asked, rasing an eyebrow.

" Well, I sort of cried a lot so that took it down a notch…"

Jace smiled at her. " Well maybe we can change that…"

He took her hand, pulling her toward him. Slowly he leaned in until Clary could feel his soft lips touching her own. His hands went around her waist and pulled her towards him until she was straddling his hips. Her arms moved to place themselves around his neck, they're kiss becoming more and more intense. Finally Clary had to break for air.

Jace took this as opportunity to kiss down her neck, continuing lower and lower, until Clary's hands moved- as if by themselves- to Jace's face, pulling it back down to her own so that her lips could reach his once again. She loved this feeling. The feeling of him, the feeling of his undivided attention. She loved the way his lips felt moving against her own and the texture of his hair as her hands enveloped themselves in it.

Jace stood up, taking Clary up with him and carrying her over to the bed. He sat down on the edge, Clary still straddling his hips. During this time, they didn't one loose touch. Slowly Jace's hands started to move down Clary's body, stopping at her waist to play with the hem of her shirt. Clary gasped as his hands began to slip underneath the loose garment, sliding up her back and about to undue her-

There was a knock at the door.

" Hey guys?" Alec said. " Can I come in or is this a bad time…"

Clary blushed as she got off of her boyfriend.

" Ummm… We'll be out in a minute Alec. just uh… Hold on."

Clary gave Jace one more light kiss on the lips before fixing his hair to look like they hadn't just been making out. Then she took his hand, and lead him out of the room to go talk to Alec.

" We're continuing this later," Jace whispered into Clary's ear right before opening the door. She blushed.

**There are two things I would like to tell you guys. Number one is, in this story, Jace and Clary will never actually _do it._ I wouldn't feel comfortable writing it for one thing, and I honestly believe that seventeen is just two young too young to loose your virginity. I know they did it in the books, but in my story, that won't be ****happening. The second thing I would like to inform you about is that there are very few chapters left in this story. Probably only two or three plus an epilogue, so be aware. I want to thank everyone who's actually read this monstrosity of a story from the beginning. I would love to hear from you guys in the reviews! Maybe if I get enough of them I might update faster... I really appreciate you guys reading this, an I hope you continue reading until the end. I love you guys so much! Read on ****shadowhunters, read on.**


	25. Chapter 25

" Hello? Is this Clarissa Fray?"

Clary was confused. Why was her phone ringing when everyone on her contact list was sitting either directly across from her or beside her.

" Umm… yes. This is she."

" This is the New York police department. We are calling about the case of Valentine Morgenstern. He's just been found about half an hour ago, but we need you and your mother to come and identify the suspect for certain."

Clary took in a breath. They found him. They actually found him. Everyone sitting at their table looked at her with worry in their eyes.

" Oh, uh, when would you like us to come in?"

" We need you and Jocelyn Fray here at exactly nine am tomorrow. We've already contacted the hospital."

Clary thanked the officer and confirmed that she would be there the next morning.

" Who was that?" Izzy asked, concerned.

" Umm… That was the police department. They found Valentine."

A chorus of gasps found it's way around the table. Jace took Clary's hand and squeezed it for reassurance. She smiled at him, grateful for the support.

" The officer said I have to go in tomorrow morning with my mom."

Jace took out his phone to look at the time. It was almost eleven O'clock at night and they were all out at a restaurant for a late dinner.

" Clary, I think we should take out food to go and leave then.I don't want you to be tired as well as stressed tomorrow."

Clary agreed, so she and Jace left the others at the restaurant. Jace drove them back to the Lightwood mansion where they quickly ate their food. Jace walked Clary to her bedroom where he talked to her through the door of the bathroom while she changed and got ready for bed. As he was about to leave, she caught his arm, making him turn back and face her.

" Jace? Can you stay here with me tonight?" Her eyes held a slight panic in them that Jace wanted to pouch out. He wrapped his arms around the petite red head, and held her tight whispering "of course" into her ear.

Jace then took Clary's hand and lead her over to the bed. He told her to get under the covers and try to fall asleep while he went back to his room to get ready for bed. By the time he got back, Clary was in a restless sleep. Her body kept twitching randomly, as if she was having a nightmare. Jace quickly go into the win sized bed, and engulfed Clary into his arms. Her body seemed to relax as she snuggled into his chest. They were soon fast asleep.

**Sorry for such a short chapter! I'll try and update tomorrow! Please review!**


	26. PART 4: Damaged, Chapter 26

Clary sat in a hard plastic chair of the police office wringing her sweaty hands in her were beginning to get sticky causing them to burn each other, but Clary kept wringing them, ignoring the growing pain. Jocelyn sat next to her in an identical looking chair. She was perfectly still, her face an emotionless mask. Clary had always wished to be able to do that. Completely hide her emotions from the world, but somehow, they'd always creeped their way in at the most unwanted moments. Her cheeks would blush with embarrassment, her lips would spread at inappropriate jokes and her eyebrows would furrow when something angered her.

" Clarissa and Jocelyn Fray?" A bald man in a blue police uniform called.

Clary and her mother both stood, and followed the officer. He lead them both down a tiled corridor until they reached a black metal door. The man typed in a key code and a buzzer sounded, followed by a blinking green light indicating that the door was unlocked. The officer stepped through the door, swiftly accompanied by Clary's mother, then finally, after taking in a deep breath, Clary.

The room was small and rectangular. A window stretched from one end to another looking up into a room with lines and numbers placed strategically along the wall. The room looked much like in Clary's imagination. It highly resembled the ones she'd seen in movies and shows. A different, ginger haired officer with a neatly combed beard and moustache sat at a desk with a microphone attached to some sort of machine. He introduced himself as Officer Grahm. He explained that they were going to send in eight men that all matched the description of Valentine, and that Clary and her mother would have to tell them which man it was for sure.

" We're almost certain of which one it is but we need you to clarify it." Grahm said. "One of the men is missing a finger. We're haven't done any tests yet, but we believe that it's the same finger that was found in the fire two months ago."

Clary gasped, remembering watching the news about a week before receiving the phone call from Jonathan. The news lady was saying that the only trace of a body left after the fire, was a single finger with a family ring on it. Her memory then flashed to that night in the storage wear house when Valentine had tried to shoot Jace. He had been wearing black leather gloves. On his right hand, the one that was holding the gun, the part of the glove that would have held his pinky finger looked empty. At the time, Clary hadn't thought much of it. After all, a weird hand was the least of her concerns since she was about to witness the death of her maybe boyfriend, but as she listened to the officers words, the puzzle pieces finally began to fit together. At that moment, Officer Grahm asked if they were ready to send in the suspects. Clary nodded.

Grahm said something into the microphone and eight blonde-hair black-eyed men walked in a straight line into the room where they stood shoulder to shoulder against the pale baize wall. Clary saw him immediately, and she was about to point him out to the officers in the room when she heard a gasp from her mother. She turned her head just in time to see Jocelyn Fray fall to the ground, tears already dripping down her unconscious face.

The rest of Clary's stay at the police station was a blur. She vaguely remembered screaming, as blood began to stream from her mother's head where she'd hit the cement floor. The tangy metallic aroma was making it's way around the room. Medics showed up and took Jocelyn to the hospital, but the police told Clary that she had to stay there and finish the identification process. She'd told the officers that indeed, the man missing the pinky was Valentine Morgenstern. She then signed some papers before finally calling Jace and waiting Impatiently for him to show up.

As he pulled up to the front of the station, Clary raced out through the automatic doors and ran out to the black SUV. She'd told Jace that they had to get to the hospital right away. The car was moving before Clary's door was even closed.

" What happened?" Jace asked, frantically driving as fast as he could without breaking the speed limit.

" I don't know." Clary said still in a state of shock. "One minute she was calm, then the next she just collapsed."

As Jace parked the car, Clary was already in the building, demanding the nurse to tell her which room her mother was in.

" I''m sorry sweetie," the nurse said kindly, " but I'm afraid I can't let you in at the moment. Your mother is currently having a CT scan. I'll let you know as soon as she's out and her stitches are done. In the mean time, you may sit there in the waiting room. She gestured to the small space litterd with chairs and a small TV hanging in the corner.

Just then, Jace walked through the doors of the hospital. He sat with Clary in the waiting room, holding her hand, rubbing little circles on it with his thumb.

" It's alright Clary." He said soothingly. " The most she probably has from the fall is a concussion."

Clary knew he was probably right, but she couldn't help but worry. Her mom had ben through so much recently, it was no wonder she'd broken down like that. About an hour later, the nurse called Clary in to finally see her mother.

As Clary stepped into the pure brightly lit hospital room, she saw her mom laying on the bed sleeping. Her head was covered in bandages. Clary walked over to her, and took her hand. Her mother stirred before opening her bright green eyes.

" Clary?" She asked, tears streaming down her eyes. " Is that you darling?"

Clary's eyes filled with tears and she didn't even bother trying to stop them. She let them flow freely down her cheeks, because nothing mattered in that moment except for that her mother finally knew who she was.

" Mom," She said, saliva forming in her mouth because of her tears. " Mommy, your back. You remember me again."

Jocelyn laughed at the sight of seeing her daughter so happy. She pulled her down into a hug, one hand petting Clary's soft red curls while the other squeezed her hard against her chest.

" Of course I remember you." She whispered into her ear. " I'll always remember my little girl."

The two stayed like that for a long time, engulfed in each others arms. The only family Clary had ever truly known, was finally back in her life, and she'd never felt so happy before in all of her existence. Jocelyn Fray, her _mother, _was finally back, and in that moment, Clary felt like she was five again, her mother being the most important person in her life again, for the first time in months.

**Kay guys! We're almost there! There will be one more chapter then it'll be the epilogue, then It's done. I'm soooo ****grateful**** to anyone and everyone who's read this thus far! I hope you continue with me until the end! PLEASE REVIEW!**


	27. Chapter 27

The doctor was standing in the hallway outside of Jocelyn's room, about to explain to Clary, what had happened.

" As I've already told you," He said. "Two weeks ago, your mother was diagnosed with retrograde amnesia. Her mind was trying to protect itself from the traumatic experience it had just gone through by completely blocking it out."

Clary nodded, remembering the doctor saying something like that. How her mother had forgotten everything that had happened from right before the divorce and on.

" Now, this is where things get a bit tricky. You see, sometimes memories come back in little pieces, sometimes they don't come back at all, and sometimes, like with your mother, they come back all at once. My theory is that in your mother's head, Valentine Morgenstern looked much different. You know, younger probably. But. When your mother saw him yesterday, the way he was when she was taken, her memories all came flashing back, causing her mind to go into shock and faint."

Clary nodded again because there really wasn't anything else she could have done.

" Clary, I highly recommend your mother go see a therapist regularly, at least for a few months after she gets out of here. She's been through quite a bit the past few weeks, and I'm afraid of what had been so bad in that wear house that her mind had blocked it out."

Clary's body went ridged as she thought about, for the first time, what Valentine had truly done to her mother. The thoughts started to scare her so she quickly pushed them out of her head.

" Isn't there a therapist here in the hospital?" Clary asked.

" Yes, and she's coming to check up on your mother later today, but I'm quite certain that your mother will need more than just one session."

Clary walked back into her mother's room and found her sleeping on the clean white hospital bed. Clary didn't feel like waking her up. She looked too peaceful to be disturbed. Suddenly Jocelyn Fray cried out in pain.

" No!" she yelled, flailing her arms, her eyes still closed. " No, Valentine stop!"

Clary rushed to her mother's side, shaking her shoulders to wake her up. Finally after what seemed like hours, Jocelyn's body seemed to relax and her eyes opened ever so slowly.

"Clary?" She said in a panicked voice.

" I'm here mom, I'm here. It was just a dream."

Clary took her mothers hand, squeezing it between her own.

" No, it wasn't a dream. It happened. I was reliving it..."

Clary watched and listened painfully as her mother, calm and collected Jocelyn Fray, rambled on in incoherent sentences. Clary felt like she was going to fall apart. Her mother might remember her again, but she wasn't fully back yet. She might never be _full_ again.

**XxXxXxXxX**

" Mom, do you want me to stay?" Clary asked.

The therapist had just come in to talk to her mother. She wore the same doctors robe as the rest of the doctors. She had brown curly hair that went a little past her shoulders, and her make-up was done in a way that made her look like she wasn't wearing any. She'd introduced herself as Doctor Su, but preferred to be called Sylvia by her patients.

" You can stay if you'd like Clary, I think it might help you understand what's going on, but you don't have to." Jocelyn answered.

Clary nodded, deciding to stay with her mother, while Sylvia sorted through her emotional state.

" Alright, Jocelyn. So, how are you feeling right now?"

" Good. Well, shaken up a bit, but I'm not feeling to bad at the moment."

Sylvia wrote something down in her notebook.

" Okay. Now your doctor said something about nightmares. Do you want to talk about that?"

Jocelyn nodded, taking in a deep breath.

" They're not just nightmares." She said, "I keep having to relive everything he did to me…" She shuddered.

" Would you like to elaborate on what exactly he did to you Jocelyn."

Jocelyn took a moment to look at Clary, before nodding again.

" I would like to inform you", Sylvia said, " that anything you say about what happened can later be used as evidence in court."

Jocelyn nodded again, before finally saying out loud what she'd hoped she'd never have to.

" Eighteen years ago, right after the divorce, Valentine came up to me and told me that someday, he would come back and find me. He said he would make us a family again."

She took in a deep breath before continuing.

" Back then we lived on a small island called Idris. It had very few residents, so my art always sold well with all of the tourists who'd come during the summer. Valentine would would work for some company from home, and everyone on the island would help grow most of our food. It was a beautiful community." Jocelyn had now forgotten everyone in the room. She was fully engulfed in her own thoughts and memories.

" I loved that island so much, but I knew I had to leave, So I made my way here to New York. I had Clary, and together we'd made a good life for ourselves. I'd found other things I could do apart from drawing or painting. I even started teaching at an art school. After a few years, I'd nearly forgotten about Valentine's threat, until that day when Clary came home and told about Jonathan, and Valentine's untimely death. I still remember the exact words he said to me that day in the court building.

'the day you hear about Valentine Morgenstern's death, is the day I come and find you.'"

Jocelyn's voice was getting weaker by the second.

"I was so scared. He knew where I was. He knew about _Clary._ The next day, when Clary left for school, he came for me. He dragged me out of the apartment and into a car, then he took me to the wear house. There, he locked me up in a cold windowless room with nothing but a bed, sink, and toilet. He stripped me of the clothes I was wearing and made me put on a thin silk night gown instead. I thought that was the end of it. That he'd just keep me there in that room, freezing and starving me to death, but no. He did much worse."

Tears were starting to roll down Jocelyn's face, and her fingers were clenching themselves into fists.

" That night, Valentine came into the room and stripped me of the nightgown. He hadn't even given me anything to put on underneath. Just my bare skin underneath the useless fabric. At first I'd thought it was just to make me feel even colder that I already was, but that night, it became clear that, that wasn't the case. He'd come into the room and closed the steel door behind him before ordering me to take off the silk garment. At first I'd refused, but he hit me. Every time I'd said no, he'd strike me so hard my vision would darken around the edges, so eventually, I'd had no choice. For at least five minutes, he just stared at my naked body, making me feel worthless. Then, he came forward and grabbed my face, forcefully pressing his dry lips against my own. I was frozen, as his hands wandered all over my body, tracing the curves of my waste, until they came up to my chest."

Jocelyn's voice was now icy with anger. This was what she'd been reliving for the past two days every time she'd fall asleep.

" He'd raped me every single night. That's where all of the bruises and cuts came from. I would refuse every night, and every night he'd hit me until I agreed. By the time the police found me, I was unconscious."

Jocelyn's mind finally returned to the present, the present in which Clary was sitting in her chair, silently sobbing with her head in hands. Jocelyn rushed over to her and held her against her chest.

" It's okay Clary. I'm okay now. It'll never happen again. shhhh…."

**okay, so I hope you guys were okay with that chapter... it ****honestly**** scared me a bit to write it... So I think t****here actually will be another chapter after this one then the epilogue. Thank you guys so much for reading, and PLEASE REVIEW!**


	28. Chapter 28

Clary sat on her bed in the Lightwood mansion. She'd been sitting there for over an hour, not doing much more than blinking and breathing. She was pretty sure that if those weren't automatic body functions, she would have stopped doing that as well. What her mother had said was starting to settle in, coursing it's way through her blood like poison. Valentine had done unspeakable things to her mother and now Clary yearned for nothing but his death. She was almost certain that she could even live with his _blood_ on her hands.

At that moment, a knock came at the door.

"come in," she called expecting to see Jace or Izzy. Surprise penetrated throughout her body as the youngest Lightwood son, Max came in through the door.

" Hi Max." She said softly.

" Hi Clary." He answered not quite meeting her eyes. " Jace said you were feeling sad. Is that true?"

" Yeah. It's true." She answered.

Max came over to her and sat down next to her on the bed his legs dangling off the edge.

" When I'm sad," He said "Izzy tells me to cry. Then we watch movies or read books together. Have you cried yet?"

Clary smiled despite herself, partly because of what Max had said about Izzy, and partly because of how nice and calm Max was compared to the other Lightwoods. Although Alec wasn't as loud and flamboyant as Izzy or Magnus or even Jace for that matter, he was still a very stern looking guy. Max wasn't like that. Something about him was just so wonderfully child like, that you couldn't get mad at him even if you wanted to.

" Yeah. I've cried." Clary finally said.

" Then let's read a book." Clary then noticed that Max was holding a small book in his hands. He held it up for Clary to see, and she saw that it was a manga novel. Clary loved manga. She loved the art in it, and she loved how detailed the story could get with nothing but a few words per page.

" Dengeki Daisy" Clary read.

Max blushed, " I think it's meant more for girls, but I figured since your the one who's sad, I'll read it with you anyways."

Clary smiled. Max was such a nice kid, she felt like crying again. Together they lay down on the bed on their stomachs and propped the book up against the pillow. They read the pages together, laughing and blushing and enjoying the book from cover to cover.

Just as they were discussing their favourite parts of the book, Jace stepped into the room.

" Why hello there Jace." Clary said sitting up from her comfortable position on the bed next to Max, feeling almost cheerful.

" Well I guess someone's in a better mood," Jace said with a smile, walking over to her and kissing her on the forehead.

" Much." She said. " Max and me were just reading some manga." She looked over at the young Lightwood and laughed seeing his face a light shade of pink.

" Max can cheer anybody up" Jace said with something that sounded like pride in his voice. " I believe, it's time for him to go to bed though."

Max groaned. " But it's still early," He protested,

" Afraid not buddy," Jace pulled his phone from his pocket. " It is eleven o'clock at night."

Max sighed before getting up off the bed, and surprising Clary by wrapping his arms around her waste and hugging her. Maybe it was the just one of those 'time and place' things, but Clary could have sworn it was the best big she'd ever received.

" Good night Clary," he said before walking out the door.

" He's a good kid," Jace said after a few moments. " He has a certain talent for always being able to say the right thing."

Clary nodded in agreement.

The next week was easier on Clary. Maryse insisted that Clary and her mother stay at the Lightwood mansion for at least until her mother recovered. They'd moved Clary's bedroom up to the fourth floor with her mother, so they'd have the whole floor to themselves. There was a kitchen, a livingroom, three bathrooms and two bedrooms. It was one of the smaller floors of the mansion.

" I can't believe I get to live in the same house as my girlfriend but two fricking floors down. It's like some sort of punishment from greek mythology."

Clary laughed. " We can have sleep overs…" She trailed off, ignoring the shocked expression on Jace's face. She was never the one making suggestions.

They were walking together in central park with steaming starbucks cups.

" Who are you and what have to done to Clarissa Fray?" Jace said jokingly. Clary lightly shoved him, but couldn't hide her smile. She loved Jace so much it was unreal.

" Are you ready for tomorrow?" Jace asked.

Tomorrow, was Valentine's court date. Clary didn't understand why he even got a trial, but somehow, just like seventeen years ago, he'd managed to convince whoever it was that people convinced for these things, that he deserved a chance to speak.

" of course I'm not ready. I was hoping I'd never have to see him again, and now after hearing everything he did to my mom…"

Jace wrapped his arm around Clary. " It's okay, your mom and you will be okay."

" Jace?" Calry asked so quietly he had to strain to hear her words. " Am I a terrible person for wanting him dead?"

Jace squeezed Clary to himself before finally replying, " I hope not. If that makes you a terrible person then what does it make me for wanting to be the one who would kill him for you."

Clary looked into Jace's eyes and smiled. " A peace-loving killer."

They laughed, then they kissed then they laughed again, and in that moment, Clary wanted nothing more than for all of this to be over. She wanted nothing more than to be free to love Jace for the rest of her life, spending eternity just laughing and kissing, and being with him.


	29. Epilogue

Two Months Later

After hours of painting on the old brick wall of the art ally, Clary finally put down her brush, clenching and unclenching her sore, stiffened hands and wrists. She took a few steps back, and finally took in her great masterpiece. A smile spread it's self upon her face as she looked up at the perfect strokes of her brush on the dirty old blackened brick. She beamed thinking that if Jonathan were here, he would be proud.

Valentine had received a life sentence in jail. Soon after that, he had some how gotten hold of a knife and killed himself in his cell. Clary would never forgive him, but she felt an odd sense of gratitude to him. Gratefulness that he at least had the decency to remove himself from the world where he wasn't wanted.

Jonathan was another story. Clary had decided that hating Jonathan was too hard. As brief as his role in Clary's life had been, it was important, and despite the trauma that he'd put her through, happy memories of lunches in the food court, or nice comical discussions during their walks in central park, were usually what accompanied the sound of his name. His face still managed to make it's way into her nightmares, but it was never _him _that scared her. It was usually the dark, too friendly-looking figure behind him that woke her up screaming. At that point, either Jace or her mother would come into her room, and cradle her back to sleep.

" Wow." A deep male voice said behind her.

Clary was already smiling. Before she even had a chance to turn around, Jace wrapped his arms around Clary's waist and kissed her cheek.

" That looks amazing." He said into her ear.

She smiled wider, if that was even possible, and turned in his arms so that she could face him. Jace had gotten a smudge of green paint on his nose from when he'd kissed her. Clary started to giggle uncontrollably at the sight.

" What?" Jace asked amused.

" You got paint on your face, right," She poked his nose with her pointer finger, " here."

He snatched her finger, using it to pull her forward, and kiss her on the lips.

" You mean _you _got paint on my nose." He siad teasingly.

They laughed before Jace finally asked Clary what the painting was.

" I tried to paint what had happened to me I guess…" She trailed off, not knowing how to explain her project.

The painting showed a phone, a fast food cup, and a gun, surrounded by a green smoke like vail, the same colour as her eyes. As _his _eyes.

" The green is kind of in honour of Jonathan, because even if e was the reason I was there in the first place, he saved my life. Both our lives. I realized that for the first time, last week."

last week was Jonathan's funereal. Clary had sobbed, again, and Jace had been quiet for the whole thing. Jocelyn had shed silent tears along with Maryse and the Lightwood children. Clary hadn't even realized that Jonathan was close to Izzy and Alec and Max as well as Jace, until that moment, when Izzy looked down at the coffin being lowered into the ground, and a silent tear rolled down her cheek. For the rest of the funeral, Izzy seemed just as collected as always, but as soon as they were home, she ran up to her room, shut the door, and didn't come out for the rest of the day. Clary walked by once, just to see if she was okay, but when she got to her door, she heard tiny silent sobs. Max's eyes were red when he came down for dinner that night, and Alec wasn't wearing his habitual easy smile.

" We were all pretty close with him," Jace explained to her that night. " Izzy especially. Sometimes Izzy uses her upbeat personality like a shield form her own emotions, but they always catch up with her. Max tries to do the same. He idolizes Izzy, but he's not quite as good yet. I've caught him crying a few times these past months. He really liked Jonathan. We all did."

Clary looked back at her painting and continued to explain further to Jace.

" The cup is what Jonathan drugged me with, that night at Taki's," Jace nodded, waiting for her to continue. " The gun is for when you found me, and Valentine tried to shoot you," Clary paused, but couldn't muster the courage to look up at Jace. " And the cell phone is for the beginning."

Clary thought back to that day, the day it all began. The day she received a strange phone call, from a guy named Jonathan Morgenstern.

**Thank you everyone for reading! I hope you've enjoyed this story. I know the plot was obvious, and that my writing was still rough, but I really did enjoy writing this story for you guys. If it weren't for all of those follows and favourites and reviews, I would never have finished this story. I love you all and I hope you guys stick around to read more of my stuff :) I'm planing on another TMI fanfic right now. It going to be a trilogy with TMI mixed into some fairy tales... I'm really excited to start it. Anyways, Thanks again for all of your supports throughout these chapters, I couldn't have done any of it with out you guys! **


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